The Don & Judy Project Season Two
by Chewie-Fan
Summary: We carry on with our favorite couple as we try to explain why their relationship remained in limbo for such a long time... The characters were created by Irwin Allen and are owned by ? I'm just using them to relive my childhood! Read Back Story first.
1. Blast Off into Space & Wild Adventure

**Author's Note: Original dialogue from the TV show is in bold. **

**The Don/Judy Project**

**Season 2**

_Last week, as you recall, Will and Dr. Smith had each taken a trip into the sixth dimension. Will returned a genius, but Dr. Smith returned as a doddering old man. The processes were reversed with a second trip in the space vehicle. Then, Professor Robinson's body was taken over by the spirit of an ancient warrior named Canto. He entombed Maureen, Judy and Don in an ancient cave and prepared to throw Will into an unending abyss, but his love for his son saved him. Judy and Don, along with Will and Dr. Smith were filling up the final canisters of fuel. Soon they would be ready to leave the planet…_

**Blast Off into Space** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

"This should be it, Judy. We finally have enough deutronium to get off this rock," Don stated as he tested the last batch they had just mined. He and Judy were working at the drill site while Will and Dr. Smith were nearby doing... something…

"Thank goodness. I've come to hate this planet," Judy replied as she screwed the cap onto the bottle. "Let's just hope Will or Dr. Smith don't get their hands on_ these_ canisters."

"Oh, no. I'm locking these babies up and sleeping with the key." He grinned and added, "Care to guard them with me?"

She smiled and replied, "After I get these last few bottles put away, maybe we can take a little break until Will and Dr. Smith come back to help us pack up."

"And what would you like to do during this little break?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something…"

The communicator interrupted their flirting and Judy continued to deposit the bottles into the case. When she returned, Don looked at her and repeated into the speaker, **"Earthquake? What earthquake?"**

John reported that an earthquake might be heading their way, so Don told Judy to get Will and Smith while he loaded up the equipment. Judy climbed up the small ridge and called them, but they refused to leave until the unveiling of Dr. Smith's latest work of art… a statue of himself that he named, **"Spirit of Space."** As Judy made her way back to the drilling site, the earthquake hit and she tumbled over the ridge. Don fell backwards, but scrambled to his feet and rushed over to be sure she was all right. He took her hand and they searched for Will and Smith.

* * *

Once they were all safely back at the Jupiter, John informed the family that the planet was in danger of breaking up. They had to take off within twelve to fifteen hours. Dr. Smith chose to ignore the professor's warning. He and Will had befriended a miner who was blasting for 'cosmonium,' a priceless life-giving mineral wanted throughout the galaxy. It was the old miner's blasting that was causing the planet to disintegrate, and Dr. Smith, with visions of riches in his head, insisted that there was no cause for alarm.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

We're in trouble again. The planet we've been living on for the past year is breaking up and we had to get the Jupiter flight ready in less than ten hours. Dad and Don were working non-stop on the mechanical preparations while the rest of us tossed out all unnecessary equipment. Weight is going to be problem, so we have to lighten our load as much as possible. Of course Penny is bringing her pet Bloop. Don made a special niche just for her so she'd be safe during lift-off. He can be so nurturing sometimes.

We're ready to go except that we're waiting for Dr. Smith and Will to come back with the drilling equipment. They should have been back by now. Dad's going to go look for them with the jet pack. I pray that we make it in time."

* * *

Maureen had taken Penny downstairs and Judy found Don at the controls, fidgeting while anxiously awaiting the return of the others. "Don? What if they don't get back in time?" Judy asked him.

He sighed. "I'll delay lift-off as long as I can, Judy, but once the ground starts disintegrating, we won't have much choice."

"If you like, I can stay with you until Dad gets back."

He took her hand and drew her to him. "I'd like that." She placed her hands on his shoulders, and she got a close look at the worry in his eyes. He could be making a life or death decision for all of them within a few moments. She wanted to be there to support him if it came down to leaving without Will, her father and Dr. Smith. Thankfully, the Chariot came within view and they both rushed out to help stow the gear.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Lift-off almost didn't happen. Dr. Smith traded our thruster control to an old miner for some 'cosmonium,' which, according to Dr. Smith, is a priceless mineral that is the key to eternal life. In fact, he claimed that the cosmonium brought his statue to life, which is why he and Will weren't able to get back to the Jupiter. Thankfully, Dad saved them.

Once we lifted off, though, the ship couldn't break free of the planet's gravity, but Don, my mechanical genius, was able to jury-rig the thruster system, and we were off. We saw an incredible sight that I will never forget. After the planet blew apart, a nova flare appeared. As Mom said, it was like a rainbow after a storm. We needed that after the scary lift-off we had, but now we're safely in space and finally heading for Alpha Centauri."

* * *

**Wild Adventure** (Written by **William Read Woodfield** & **Alan Balter**)

Judy completed her latest entry to her cousin and turned off the recorder. The ship then lurched wildly to the left and the right. They were out of control and she held onto her desk to keep from sliding across the room. Once the ship stabilized, she left her cabin in search of Don. She found him at the bridge and asked him what had happened.

"Smith happened," he replied. "Somehow he found our position and calculated a path back to Earth. He tried to change course on his own."

"And that's when we went out of control?"

"Yeah. And your father gave him his word that we would go back to Earth instead of Alpha Centauri if his calculations were correct. Turned out they were right, but they were the Robot's, not his. He also left out another _minor _detail."

Before he could explain, they were called to the table for dinner and joined the rest of the family. John informed them that they would not be able to return to Earth because their path would take them right into the gravitational pull of the sun, and they would not risk maneuvering around it. Their destination continued to be Alpha Centauri.

Before dinner was over, the general alarm went off… Dr. Smith had changed course for Earth once again. Not only that, he also managed to eject the ship's reserve fuel cells. **"How bad is it?"** Don asked.

"**We have power for twenty, twenty-five hours, no more. We better find someplace to land,"** John replied.

Both Don and John were furious and John sent Smith below before Don could rip him apart. With the change in course, there was nowhere to land, but John remembered a string of refueling stations that had been placed in space for the Intergalactic Probe 22. They estimated that they would reach one within twenty-one hours.

* * *

Don expertly docked the Jupiter to the fuel barge, and then he suited up for his space walk to the refueling station. Judy helped him with the vest and took his face in her hands. "Be careful, please?" she begged him. He nodded and was about to kiss her lips when Will bounced in looking for him.

"Ready, Don?" Will asked.

"Coming up, Judy?" Don asked.

"No. I think I'll stay down here," Judy replied. She was worried about his walk, and was afraid that she would distract him if he knew she was watching his every move.

"I'll be fine," he told her as he followed Will up to the bridge.

Although Don experienced a disconcerting moment while outside the ship, his space walk was successful and the Jupiter was refueled and once again traveling to Alpha Centauri.

* * *

While Don was changing out of his spacesuit, Dr. Smith told Judy to keep an eye on the Major because he was suffering from a case of 'space rapture.' Judy approached Don before retiring to question him about Dr. Smith's diagnosis.

"Is it true, Don? Did you see something when you were out there?" she asked him.

He shook his head. "I _thought_ I saw something, but it was probably just a shadow."

"Dr. Smith says you've snapped and have a case of 'space rapture.'"

"And you believe him?"

"Of course not. I was just wondering what happened."

"Nothing happened!"

"You have been working awfully hard. Maybe you need a rest."

"Come on, Judy, you don't really think I'm losing it?"

Before she could answer, Smith came running up screaming that he had seen a figure outside the spaceship. The more he described the floating Green woman wearing a skin tight leotard and inverted salad bowl for a hat, the more the rest of the crew laughed. Don couldn't believe that Judy was questioning _his_ sanity when it was obvious that Smith was the one who had flipped. **"I think we should all turn in,"** Don stated and stalked off to his cabin. Judy was tempted to go after him to apologize, but thought better of it. He didn't seem to be in the best of moods, and she thought it best to give him some space.

* * *

Dr, Smith continued to have visions of the green lady while playing chess with Will. Before long, however, the ship's alarm went off and everyone ran out of his or her cabin. As Dr. Smith started to ascend the ladder, Don came up behind him, pulled him down by the belt buckle and scaled the ladder himself while Dr. Smith fumed.

As John and Don analyzed the situation Don noted that they were off course yet again. When they opened the viewport, they found themselves heading straight for the sun. Don held Smith's face and forced him to look at what was confronting them. Penny yelled at her father and Don to stop accusing Dr. Smith because she was the one who had changed the course settings of the astrogator.

Maureen and John were furious with Dr. Smith when Penny admitted that she had done it at Dr. Smith's request for help. Don was ready to deck Dr. Smith, but he and John had to plot a new course. Don worried that the best they could do would be a near miss, but the Jupiter didn't fail them. It lifted itself over the sun and they were safe.

After they all breathed a sigh of relief, John sent everyone back to bed. He had a lot to think about and needed to speak with his wife before making any decisions. Don remained behind to check on the systems while the rest of the family retired. Penny asked Judy if she was coming, but Judy replied, "I'll be down soon, Penny. You go ahead."

She and Don were finally alone on the upper deck. He checked all of the circuits as Judy stared out the viewport window. When he was done, he approached her from behind and put his arms around her waist. "Is everything okay?" she asked.

"The ship's fine, but that was a close call, Judy. If I get my hands on Smith…"

"Don…"

He rolled his eyes. "I know, I know… but Judy... three times! Three times he changed that astrogator and to manipulate Penny into doing it…"

She covered Don's hands with her own and leaned back against him, hoping to distract him enough to get his mind off Smith. "Don…listen…"

He frowned. "To what?"

"The quiet."

"Yeah?"

"We're alone."

A smile crept up his cheeks to his eyes and he tightened his hold on her.

"You know, Don, I wouldn't have had to point that out to you a few months ago…"

He nuzzled her neck. "I guess I'm out of practice."

She turned in his arms. "How about getting back into shape?"

He tilted his head and whispered, "It's like riding a bike," as his mouth covered hers. Their kiss lasted a full three seconds before it was interrupted by the sound of John's footsteps on the ladder.

They separated as John hopped onto the deck. "Judy! I thought you'd be in bed by now."

"We were just saying 'good-night,' Dad."

"I'm sorry. Go ahead. Then I need to talk to Don before we turn in."

Judy sighed and kissed Don on the cheek, and did the same to her father. "Good-night."

Don gave her a mournful smile. "Good-night," he echoed.

* * *

After spending the day making calculation after calculation, John and Don came to a decision about their flight. "Think hard about this decision, John. Alpha Control may not give us another chance to go to Alpha Centauri. They might right us off as just another 'failed' mission," Don commented.

"How do you feel about that?" John asked.

He grit his teeth. "I'll be honest with you. I don't like the words 'failed mission' attached to my resume, but the idea of seeing my family again, and Red and Tom…" Don knew John had made his final decision.

"I owe it to my children, Don."

He nodded. The elevator rose and Judy walked off. "Mom sent me up to call you both down to dinner," she said.

John nodded and turned to Don. "Are we decided?"

Don nodded again.

As John left them and descended the ladder, Judy asked, "Decided what?"

"You need to hear it from your Dad," he replied as he put his arm around her and walked to the elevator.

The family was at the table and chattering during their dinner when John announced, **"If I could have everyone's attention for a minute… there's something I think you should all know. Before Don and I came down, we completed our computations. We decided we have just enough fuel for one course change without endangering our landing. So, now that we're safely past our sun… and since it is closer than Alpha Centauri… we've decided to head for Earth."**

Judy clasped her hands together and gasped in delight. Penny and Will were ecstatic, but Dr. Smith was beside himself. He left his seat musing about the things that he would once again eat… crepe suzettes, pheasant under glass… and then he asked when they would be setting foot on terra firma.

John passed the question to their pilot. **"Don?"**

"**Our course has to be adjusted at exactly three minutes after midnight tonight,"** Don explained. **"We'll only have one chance. If we hit our course on time, we'll be firing our retro-rockets sometime tomorrow afternoon."**

"**Dr. Smith,"** Will jumped up and exclaimed, **"maybe we'll be in time for the World Series!"**

"**Oh, yes… that…" **Dr. Smith stated.

Penny joined him. **"We can go horseback riding and swimming and have bicycles!"**

"**All right. Now, that's enough,"** Maureen said to calm them.

John suggested that they all go to bed immediately after dinner, as they had a busy day coming up and Maureen beckoned the children back to the table to finish eating.

* * *

Don remained at the helm while John spent some time with the children and Maureen before they turned in for the night. He had asked Judy to come up and see him before she went to bed. She bounced in wearing her robe and slippers, eager to spend some time with him. "You look happier than I've seen you in a long time, Judy," Don commented.

"Oh, Don. I've been happy," Judy answered.

"You were almost as excited as Smith was when your father made his announcement."

"It's just that I miss so many things from back home. I'll be able to see Joan again and talk to her in person about everything we've been through. What about you? How do you feel about going home?"

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't happy about it, I mean, I miss my family, but I wish we could go back saying we had a successful mission." He sat in his pilot's chair and motioned for her to sit in his lap. "Judy, tell me something. Would you take this trip again if you had the chance?"

She settled on his thighs and placed an arm around his shoulder. "I don't know… Knowing what I know now… It would depend on a lot of factors. What about you?"

"I would in a heartbeat, but only under two conditions."

"What are they?"

"That Smith would be nowhere near the Jupiter when we lift off and that… you would be with me."

She laughed, "And I was thinking that I would only go if you were still the pilot."

"Then going home wouldn't change how you feel about me?"

She was horrified. "Of course not!"

He grinned. "I was hoping you would say that." He stood and had her take his seat. He prayed that no one would interrupt them over the next five minutes. "Judy, we came close to getting married before we left Earth. Now that we're returning…" He took a deep breath and held her hand. "I want to do it right this time." He got down on one knee. "Judy, will you marry me?"

Her eyes watered and she placed her free hand on his cheek. "Oh, Don, yes. Yes, I will." She leaned forward and they kissed. He released her hand and their arms wrapped around each other and their kiss deepened and intensified until they needed to stop to take a breath.

He whispered in her ear, "I love you, Judy. I love you so much." She held him tightly. "When do you want to tell your parents?" he asked her.

"Not until after we land. There will be so much going on. I'd rather save it for a more quiet time."

"Good. That'll give me time to shop for a ring and… ask your father's permission."

"Permission for what?" John asked as he approached the bridge. Neither Judy nor Don had noticed him step off the ladder.

"Oh, um, permission to, uh, take Judy with me when I visit my folks," Don stammered.

"Of course you have my permission, but I would think that they would want to see you alone at first," John replied.

"Oh, they won't mind. They're very fond of Judy," Don said.

Judy blushed. "Thanks, Dad. I know you both have a lot of work to do, so I'll kiss you both good-night," she stated and gave both of them a peck on the cheek.

* * *

The family was asleep as John and Don came up to begin the preparations for their course change. They were both looking out of the viewport when they couldn't believe what floated in front of them. **"John, do you see…"** Don asked

"**Yes, I see it,"** John replied.

"**Then he was telling the truth,"** Don stated as they watched the green girl in the tight leotard dance around in space with none other than Dr. Smith in his space suit chasing after her.

John went to gather the family together to witness what was happening before them. Maureen and the children were almost speechless. Judy asked where she had come from and the Robot responded. **"From the green mist."**

"**Around the fuel barge?"** Don asked.

The Robot continued to explain that she was of a species that fed on atomic fuel and had followed them for their fuel. Judy commented that Dr. Smith looked hypnotized and the Robot said that the green woman had induced Dr. Smith to think that he was in love with her in order to get more fuel from the ship. **"What are we going to do?"** Maureen asked.

"**Well, I'm going to make a course change in twelve minutes,"** John stated. He went to the astrogator followed by the rest of the family. Maureen stated that they would have to get a line to Dr. Smith right away, but Don explained that he was too far from the ship and that, if they made a course change to get closer to him, they wouldn't have enough fuel to make a second course change to get back to Earth.

Judy was horrified. **"But you can't just leave him there!"** she stated.

Maureen asked what would happen if they did change course to save Dr. Smith. John explained that they would shoot out the other side of the galaxy and be… lost in space again. **"Well that's the way it has to be. We've got to save Dr. Smith,"** Maureen stated.

Don argued against that. **"Why? He's caused us nothing but trouble from the beginning. Now why should we sacrifice everything just for him?"**

"**Because he's a human being,"** Maureen replied.

Don was not swayed. **"I say we go to Earth. Let him stay out there."**

"**For the rest of eternity?"** Maureen asked.

John considered both arguments and knew that he couldn't live with himself if he didn't listen to his wife. "Preparing course deviation of three degrees," John announced, emotion drained from his voice. Don slammed his fist on the astrogator and he stomped to the storage room.

He came out carrying his spacesuit. He sheepishly stated, **"Well, **_**somebody**_** has to haul him back in."** Judy took his arm and accompanied him as he left to change.

* * *

Don emerged from his cabin in his silver outfit. Judy helped him with the oxygen vest and commented, "Don? I want you to know… I'm proud of you for going out there to get him."

"Even though my first instinct was to leave him?"

"I knew you'd come around."

"Where does this leave us?"

"I don't know… I guess… we're back to where we were."

Don sighed. "I better get up there."

* * *

After Don brought Dr. Smith back into the Jupiter, the intercom came to life. **"Alpha Control to unidentified space vehicle. Do you read us? Over."**

They ran to the microphone and John attempted to answer. **"Alpha Control, this is **_**Jupiter 2**_**. Do you read me?"**

"**This is Alpha Control. Your signal is very faint. Your identification sounded like the **_**Jupiter 2**_**. Please reconfirm."** Dr. Smith grabbed the microphone and screamed that they were the Jupiter 2 and needed help. **"The **_**Jupiter 2**_** was lost in space over a year ago," **Alpha Control replied.

"**--But we've come back!"** Dr. Smith shouted.

John asked Alpha Control if they could track the ship, but it was reported that the ship was beyond their range of telemetry. **"You seem to be passing Earth, departing this galaxy. Can you change heading?"**

"**Negative, Alpha Control,"** John responded. **"Rocket fuel unavailable."**

"**We are losing your signal. You're exiting the galaxy, headed for outer space – Good luck," **were Alpha Control's final words.

Dr. Smith was beside himself when he realized that they had lost their only chance to return to Earth. **"Oh, the pain,"** he murmured.

"**Dad, where are we going now?"** Will asked.

"**We'll know when we get there, son. We'll know when we get there,"** John responded.

* * *

Will and the Robot were trying to soothe Dr. Smith's 'pain' by singing to him as he dreamed about arriving on the Isle of Capri. They were interrupted by a signal indicating that they were approaching a celestial body.

A female voice announced, **"**_**Jupiter 2**_**, **_**Jupiter 2**_**, this is your space controller. Please prepare for entry into our atmosphere. You compass heading should now be 8-5. Repeat: 8-5. Please conform all instruments to requested heading."**

Will replied, **"This is **_**Jupiter 2**_**. Instructions received. But who are you and what's your astral number?"**

The voice never replied, but Dr. Smith insisted that they had been going around in circles and were now headed for Earth and pointed to the planet before them. **"That can't be Earth," **Will commented. Dr. Smith ignored him and changed the astrogator's bearings.

The Robot immediately announced, **"Warning! Warning! Periodicity of signal indicates flight path of space vehicle is on collision course with zone of high intensity particulate radiation. Advise immediate evasive action."**

The _Jupiter _was caught. Sparks were flying in all directions as the ship was being tossed like a boat in a storm…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	2. Ghost Pl & Forbidden Wrld & Space Circus

_Last week, as you may recall, the Robinsons were forced to lift-off from the planet they had named Priplanus as it disintegrated beneath their ship. In their travels, they came within hailing distance of Earth, but were forced to shoot out the other end of the solar system after rescuing Dr. Smith from drifting off into space in his pursuit of a nefarious 'green woman' who drank their fuel. Missing their chance to land on Earth, they continued to travel through space and were at this moment colliding with a high radiation zone that tossed their ship about the vacuum of space… _

**The Ghost Planet** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

Don and John were came running up and took over the controls. They realized that they were once again 'way off course.' They passed through the radiation belt and were pulled into landing on an unidentified planet by a magnetized field. John instructed them all to strap into the couches. The female voice apologized for any inconvenience and explained that they would land at gate 1-1-5.

After setting down, the family joined the men at the viewport. The 'landing pad' was, as Don described, **"as bare as Mother Hubbard's cupboard."** Dr. Smith insisted that they had landed on Earth and that a 'surprise party' was awaiting them inside. John allowed him to exit the ship at his own risk, but Smith agreed to allow the Robot out to analyze the atmosphere before leaving. The Robot approached the gate and turned to report that the air quality was fit for humans. Then the gates opened and he was struck by an electrical impulse that rendered him powerless. John forbade anyone else from exiting the ship until morning.

* * *

The ship was quiet for everyone was asleep except Don, who was reading a book while on watch. Judy took the elevator to the upper deck and Don snapped his head up and smiled. They hadn't had a chance to talk since Don had pulled Dr. Smith in from space. "Hey, what are you doing up?" Don asked.

"Thinking about us," she replied as she sat in her father's chair.

"What could there be to think about? I thought we were back to the 'waiting game?'"

"Do we know what we're waiting for?"

"Uh… I've been waiting for you… Do you know what _you're_ waiting for?"

A depressed sigh left her chest. "You don't sound happy."

Don snapped his book shut. "It's not that I'm not happy, Judy… It's just that… I'm just so damned frustrated!"

She couldn't look him in the eye and guilt crept up her face. "I'm sorry, Don. I know I haven't…"

"Ah, Judy, don't apologize. It's not your fault… It's almost like someone's been colluding to keep us apart… I mean if I didn't know better, I'd swear that Smith had been paid to sabotage our relationship as well as our mission."

Judy started giggling.

Don frowned. "What's so funny?"

"Well, since I'm sure it's been leaked to the press that the Jupiter 2 has been heard from, the tabloids probably have all kinds of stories splattered across their pages about us."

"Yeah, probably that we've had orgies with aliens…"

"And babies with three toes…"

"And green skinned women chasing after our ship…"

They both laughed and reached out to each other. "I can just imagine what Joan is thinking," Judy commented.

"And Chuck…"

"At least our families know we're still alive."

"And my parents can breathe a little bit easier." Don knew that his parents would have put on a brave front in public, but not knowing if he was alive or dead must have taken its toll on them.

"Do you think Colleen and June ever got that reunion together?"

"If they didn't, I'm sure they will now. I can't believe it's been a year already."

"It has passed by pretty quickly, hasn't it?"

"You're going to be twenty-one in a few months."

She nodded. "Which brings us back to what we're, I mean, _I'm_ waiting for."

"Just say the word, Judy and I'm ready."

"For marriage or sex?"

"Whichever you want first. It's your call."

She sighed again. "They still go together in my mind, but I just can't imagine spending my wedding night in a tiny ship surrounded by my family."

"I kinda agree with you there."

"Don, I'm not looking for the perfect situation, it's just that…"

"That you would be inhibited knowing that your family was within ear shot?"

She nodded.

"I want your first time to be a beautiful experience, Judy, as well as every time after that."

She left her father's chair and kneeled next to him. "I know it will be." He placed his hands on her face and leaned down as he drew her lips to his.

"Ahem," John cleared his throat as he stepped off the ladder to relieve Don. Judy backed away and they both stood up. "You might want to get some sleep, Don. It won't be long before daybreak and we'll have to figure out what's going on here."

"Sure, John, goodnight," he stated. "Coming, Judy?"

"No, I want to talk with my dad for awhile."

He nodded and said, "Good-night," and then disappeared down the ladder.

"So, how are you two doing?" John asked.

"All right, I guess," Judy replied.

"Just all right?"

"Well, Dad, to be honest with you, before we had to change course to rescue Dr. Smith, we were making some plans for when we got home."

"Then that's why he was so adamant about leaving Smith."

"I think so. You know, it's been so strange for us. Before we lifted off, Don and I were getting along so well and had a 'normal' relationship."

"But your mother and I weren't happy with it."

"And now it's the opposite," Judy observed.

"Well, I never thought about it that way, but you're right. Don's become my best friend, Judy."

She smiled. "I'm sure he feels the same about you."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?"

"Yes. Yes it is. Goodnight, Dad," she said and kissed on the cheek before she retired. As she lay in bed wondering if Don was asleep yet, she thought about what her father had said about Don… his 'best friend.' Now there was another factor thrown into the mix. How would their relationship change if Don were to become her paramour before becoming her husband? How would it change if he became the son-in-law? She was more confused than ever. If they were on Earth, she knew exactly where they would be… they would have been married by now, but… they weren't on Earth…

* * *

The next day brought no more answers to their questions. Dr. Smith continued to chide the Robinsons about not believing that they were on Earth and volunteered to be the first to depart the ship and greet the cheering throngs he was sure were waiting for them on the other side of the door.

Don, Judy and John watched at the viewport, waiting for Dr. Smith to return. Enough time had passed that John felt it was time for him to retrieve the errant doctor. Don volunteered to go search for him. He couldn't resist some sarcasm. **"After all, I am his buddy,"** he replied and John nodded.

"**I think he's as worried about Dr. Smith as we are,"** Judy told her father.

Once inside the building, a voice told Don to follow the signs, but Don replied, **"No, thanks. I'd rather follow my instincts." **Dr. Smith came up behind him and Don nearly blew his head off with his laser pistol. Smith was evidently ready to return to the ship. The Robot had been fixed and the three of them entered the Jupiter.

Dr. Smith insisted that a banquet was being prepared in their honor. He left out the small detail that he was promised riches of unimaginable magnitude if he would surrender all of their weapons and also get the family to cooperate with the officials of the planet. John didn't believe a word Smith said and replied that in his opinion, they were on a hostile planet, and Don agreed, saying that the sooner they left the better off they'd be.

Don tried to power up the Jupiter, but the ship was drained of its power and it became a 'waiting game' of who would succumb first. Dr. Smith, anxious to claim his riches, snuck out of the ship with the Robot and carried a sack full of weapons, but Will followed them. Dr. Smith deposited the weapons with the aliens and expected to claim his rewards.

Will and the Robot were forced to follow the guards and encountered a cybernetic brain that accused the B-9 Robot with following human masters. The Robot asked for leniency as it was guilty of the charges and said that it would never happen again. He was invited into the cybernetic culture and was given the duty of supervising Smith and Will on a mechanical assembly line.

John, Maureen and Don exited the ship looking for Will and entered gate 1-1-5. The Robot spoke with John and Don, but his conversation was detected and it was announced over the loudspeaker the he was a double agent and should be destroyed. The Robot helped Will and Smith escape from the building and the family hurried back into the ship. This time they were able to lift-off and were free from the hostile planet, or so they thought.

Their radar picked up a moving body. Judy saw it from the port window and exclaimed that it was heading straight for them at a very fast speed. Don was barely able to dodge the missile, but it turned and continued to follow them. John ordered Don to head directly back to the planet. Don followed orders and pulled up at the last second just as the missile was about to hit them, and it instead crashed onto the surface of the planet. The evasive action had been successful, but they flew directly through the fires of the explosion!

**Forbidden World** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

There was a price to be paid for their close call with the missile. Don announced that the navigational system wasn't responding. The controls were frozen, having been damaged in the concussion from the missile's impact on the surface. The ship was in a downward spiral, caught in the navigational pull of the planet! John instructed Don to give the ship all the power they had, but Don argued that he couldn't do that without a navigational system.

Dr. Smith took matters into his own hands and adjusted a dial on the console, shorting out the power cells. The ship was now helpless. They were heading for a crash landing. There was no time to strap down, so John instructed everyone to lie down on the floor. Don stood at the ship's controls and said, **"Before we hit, I'll fire the retro-rockets."**

"**You'll overload the circuits,"** John stated. **"They'll blow!"**

"**We've got to risk it." **Don looked at John and commanded, **"John, you better get down on the floor with the others. That's an order."**

John wished him luck and hit the floor. Don warned them before he pulled the switch for the retro-rockets. **"All right. Hang on. Here we go!"**

The retro rockets slowed the ship and Don was flung away from the astrogator and into the elevator, falling to the floor, unconscious.

After the impact, John and Will immediately grabbed the fire extinguishers and sprayed the console. The women and Dr. Smith arose and checked that they were unharmed. Penny noticed that Don lay on the floor and screamed, **"Don!"**

Judy turned and exclaimed, **"Don, he's been hurt!"** as she and her mother ran to him.

Don opened his eyes and coughed. **"Oh, he was a big guy and he hit me when I wasn't looking," **he joked as he pulled himself up.

Maureen suggested, **"I think you better stay right where you are."**

"**No, I'm all right. It's the spaceship I'm worried about."** He willed himself to shake off the aches and pains and he and John checked on the damage, which was serious. They had plenty of work ahead of themselves.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

By now, you should know that the _Jupiter 2_ passed by Earth and that we're alive and well. We were so close to landing back home, Joan. Don and I were talking about getting married, but our chance for that 'normal life' is gone. We've crash-landed on another planet, thanks _again_ to Dr. Smith. He got us involved with some cybernetic brain and it sent a missile after us. We were able to thwart it by having it crash into the planet, but the Jupiter was damaged by the concussion of the impact. We're all okay, but the ship is pretty banged up. Dad and Don are going to be spending a lot of time fixing her up. Don was knocked unconscious and I need to check on him. I hope he doesn't have a concussion."

* * *

Judy found Don working on a small part by the astrogator. He stopped and rubbed his hand behind his neck and moved his head from side to side. Judy rushed up behind him. "Don? What's wrong?"

He rubbed his eyes. "I'm okay. Just a headache."

"You might have a concussion. Let Mom take a look at you."

"Nah, I'm okay," he insisted.

"Then take a break."

"There's too much to do," he said. He squinted at the part he held in his hand and then lurched just a bit to the left. He dropped the part and grabbed the edge of the astrogator. Judy reached out and steadied him. "Whoa. Maybe I do need to take a break," he said as he shook his head to clear it.

"Come on, tough guy. Let Mom take a look at you," she said and led him to the elevator.

* * *

Maureen did indeed diagnose Don with a concussion and ordered him to take it easy. Judy volunteered to stay with Don throughout the night and wake him every hour to check his pupils. Maureen nixed that idea. "Not with your brother and sister right next door," she said.

Judy was exasperated. "Mother, it's not like we're going to _do_ anything."

"I don't like how it would look to Penny and Will."

Judy just stared at her mother. "I can't believe this."

John sauntered up. "What's the problem?"

"Mother won't let me stay with Don tonight to check on him," Judy complained.

"Just keep his door open," John suggested.

"John…" Maureen warned.

"She may as well be the one to do it, Maureen. She'll probably be up half the night worrying about him anyway, and we'll be able to get some sleep."

"What about Penny and Will?"

"What about them?"

"What will they think of Judy spending the night in his room?"

"They'll think Judy's taking care of him, and if she doesn't, they'll probably volunteer themselves. You know he's like a brother to them."

"Well... I guess you're right. I'm sorry, Judy, I guess I'm overreacting," Maureen said.

Judy took a breath. "Well, I'm glad that's settled." She pulled down the extra bed in Don's cabin and settled in for the night. She woke him and checked his eyes before she went to sleep.

"Are you going to do this all night?" he asked her.

"Yes. I have to check on you every hour," she replied.

He groaned. "Just like when I was in the hospital after the Memorial Day explosion. I barely got any sleep that night."

"You had a concussion then too."

"Well, this time, I'm going to get something more out of it than just loss of sleep… a good-night kiss every time you wake me up."

"That's fair." She leaned towards him and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"You call _that_ a kiss?" he asked.

"Be a cooperative patient and you'll get a better kiss next time," she stated.

He smiled. "See you in an hour."

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Don did end up with a concussion. I couldn't believe that Mom gave me a hard time about checking on him throughout the night. Dad came to my rescue, though, and we had an… interesting night. He insisted on a goodnight kiss every time I woke him up and I started with a peck, but by the time I woke him up the sixth time, we got pretty passionate. You would have been proud of me, but then we heard Mom get-up and that ended things pretty quickly. It was like someone had poured cold water over our heads.

Oh, Joan, you won't believe this story about Dr. Smith. There's a strange fog on this planet and Dad wanted to test it thoroughly before any of us left the ship. Dr. Smith, however, couldn't wait and sent the Robot out against Dad's orders, and it never came back. Dad sent Dr. Smith out to look for it and then he was lost too. We finally found him this morning. He drank this liquid that was fuel! Then he was in danger of exploding and had to stay away from us in case he blew up.

Poor Dr. Smith. Don teased him about not to getting the hiccups, and, of course, he got the hiccups. Don apologized when Mom said that it wasn't funny.

Dr. Smith somehow got the fuel because he and Will ran into the aliens who live here. Actually, as the alien pointed out to Will, _we're_ the aliens on this planet and the natives think that we're invading. They said that they were mobilizing thousands of troops and had a secret weapon that they would use against us.

It never materialized, Joan. In fact, when Will went to visit the alien for an antidote for Dr. Smith (which did work, by the way), he discovered that there were no legions of soldiers ready to come after us. It was just one single man who wanted to live as a hermit. Since we've invaded his territory, he has up and moved to another part of the planet, wanting nothing to do with us.

So we're stuck on this planet, now, for God knows how long… I just hope it's more hospitable our last stop."

* * *

**Space Circus** (Written by **Bob and** **Wanda Duncan**)

Penny, Will, Dr. Smith and the Robot were on an expedition to look for cobalt magnesium for their water purifier. What they had found so far was only .0005 of the substance and Don had told them that it needed to be at least one percent cobalt magnesium for it to work in the purifier. If they couldn't find the cobalt to work on the plants, their food supply wouldn't last more than a week.

Dr. Smith shirked his way out of continuing with the children and was approached by what looked like the Abominable Snowman. He screamed in fear, but, by the time Will and Penny came back, Sasquatch was gone. It turned out that Sasquatch was real and part of a traveling circus that was run by a Dr. Marvello. He asked Will and Penny to hand out advertising bills announcing the arrival of the show, and was quite disappointed when he was told there were no towns or villages nearby. He offered to put on a show in exchange for dinner, and Penny ran home to tell her family.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

This planet has been awful. It's been hot and the plants have developed a blight. Don's been working on the purifier, but we can't find the cobalt magnesium to make it work. He's been spending every minute trying to find a way around the problem. I know Dad is worried about our food supply, and he's been irritable.

Oh, a space circus is coming through the area and the owner is willing to put on a show for us without being paid. All we have to do is feed them… which is a problem since our food supply is low. When Penny and I offered to give up some of our food rations, Mom got Dad to agree. I know what you'd be thinking, Joan… 'a circus?' Life is so boring here, Joan, any kind of entertainment would be welcome."

* * *

The show went on and the highlight was none other than Will's participation. The troop rolled out a large machine that was purported to materialize whatever object the subject was thinking about. The woman, Fenestra, would suggest what the subject should think about, and it would 'magically' appear when she pressed a button on the side of the machine. On this particular night, the machine malfunctioned, but the object, a goblet, appeared nonetheless. She asked Will to think of an object without suggestion and he thought of a blue frog, which appeared in his hand. As Fenestra told Dr. Marvello, Will had 'the gift,' and they made plans to take him with them as part of their troop.

* * *

Dinner was spartan, but adequate. John noticed that all three of his children ate little, allowing the circus performers to have second helpings. Don also noticed and followed their lead. He wanted to keep Dr. Marvello talking about the many planets they had stopped at, hoping that he might find a clue to their whereabouts in the galaxy.

"Yes, life in a traveling circus is exciting. More than the monetary reward, however, is the reward of bringing pleasure to so many beings. If any of you have experienced that, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about."

"Judy has!" Penny offered.

Dr. Marvello's ears perked up. If he could talk the oldest daughter into joining them, perhaps the young boy would be allowed to follow. "Have you, my dear? What have you done?"

Judy was embarrassed. "Oh, nothing, really. Just some summer stock."

"Summer stock?" Fenestra asked, "What is that?"

Don shot Judy a warning look. He didn't like the tone of Marvello's voice. The man possessed shades of Dr. Smith's character.

"Summer stock is like a playhouse that is only open in the warm weather of the summer. We put on shows with singing and dancing…"

"So, you're an entertainer!" Marvello exclaimed.

"No, not really. I've just been in a couple of musicals."

Fenestra encouraged Judy to perform a number for them.

"No, I couldn't."

"Go ahead, Judy," Penny encouraged. "You haven't sung in ages."

"Well, all right, but I should warn you that I am rusty." She cleared her throat and stood, taking a step away from the table. She chose a song from the musical "Carousel," which was the final summer stock play she appeared in the year before she met Don.

"_If I loved you_

_Time and again I would try to say_

_All I'd want you to know!_

_If I loved you_

_Words wouldn't come in an easy way_

'_Round in circles I'd go!_

_Longing to tell you_

_But afraid an' shy_

_I'd let my golden chances pass me by!_

_Soon you'd leave me_

_Off you would go in the mist of day_

_Never, never to know_

_How I loved you_

_If I loved you!"_

Everyone except Don applauded her performance. It was like her performance paralyzed him. Judy curtsied quickly and returned to her seat next to him. He stared at her in awe, as he had forgotten just how talented she was. Her voice mesmerized him.

"That was beautiful, Judy. Do you miss the stage?" Fenestra asked.

"Yes and no. I loved performing, but I've let it go since there is no audience for Rogers and Hammerstein musicals in outer space," Judy replied.

"Ah, but that's where you're wrong, my dear. I could make you into the diva of the galaxy. You have an open invitation to join my troop. Between you and your brother, we would have a first class act."

A shadow crossed Don's face and John and Maureen looked at each other in alarm. Would Judy accept? They needn't have worried. "Thank you, Dr. Marvello, but no. My place is here with my family." She looked at Don as she continued. "I've given up my dreams of becoming an entertainer."

Don breathed a bit more easily and looked at John in relief. He didn't know what he would have done if Judy had accepted the invitation.

* * *

Dr. Smith stepped in where Judy did not. He visited Dr. Marvello the next day and they worked out a deal. He would deliver Will to him provided he could go along as Will's manager and that Earth would be a stop on their tour. Dr. Smith put his plan in motion. The purification system was close to working successfully, but Dr. Smith altered its settings so that it would appear that they were far from solving their food supply problem. He was then able to convince Will that joining the circus troop would be an act of self-sacrifice that would insure the survival of his family. Will, grudgingly, agreed.

Smith's plans were detected by the family and they raced off to stop Will from leaving with the circus troop. Dr. Marvello freed the Sasquatch creature and it tussled with John. Will offered to go willingly with the troop if Dr. Marvello would control the creature so that his father wouldn't be hurt. Dr. Marvello agreed. Will helped John up and he told Will to get back with the family because **"You're not going with him."**

"**I gave him my word,"** Will stated.

Dr. Marvello was not a heartless man. He could see the sadness in Will's eyes. He intervened. **"No. I couldn't take you with me, even if I wished. I saw in you the makings of a star, but the only great performer is the one who puts his heart into his work. You could never do that because**, like your sister, **your heart's here with your family…"**

Since his chance of returning to Earth disappeared with the circus, Dr. Smith decided to try his hand at wine making, a creature comfort he sorely missed from home. As he, Will and the Robot were working the still, an animal appeared carrying a large machine in his hands. Will and Dr. Smith ran back to the Jupiter in fear and the animal followed them…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	3. Prisoners of Space & Android Machine

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinsons landed on a planet that housed a cybernetic culture in which the Robinson party would become workers on an assembly line. They managed to escape back into space, only to be fired at by a missile, which the Jupiter dodged, but it crash-landed after it was damaged by the impact of the missile. They were now stuck on another inhospitable planet, but their boredom was lessened when a space circus, owned by Dr. Marvello, came through and entertained them with their show. Will volunteered to participate and was found to have thought materializing powers. Dr. Marvello, with Dr. Smith's help, conspired to take Will with them as a star entertainer, but Dr. Marvello let Will go when he realized that his heart was with his family. To soothe his own disappointment, Dr. Smith decided to try his hand at winemaking. While working on the still, an animal appeared carrying a large machine in its hands. Will and Dr. Smith ran back to camp, but the animal followed…_

**The Prisoners of Space** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

The animal deposited the machine in their camp, backed away and disappeared. A speaker flipped up and a voice stated, "Attention. Attention! By order of the Galaxy Tribunal of Justice, you are hereby notified that charges have been brought against you for crimes committed in space. The following Earth people are indicted: Professor John Robinson, Major Don West, Maureen Robinson, William Robinson, Judy Robinson, Penny Robinson. These persons are to hold themselves in readiness to testify before the Tribunal.

John and Don wondered what crimes they could possibly have been speaking of when an impenetrable force field surrounded their camp. "All accused will now consider themselves under house arrest. Warning. Do not attempt to leave the area. The fence is highly energized."

Maureen was convinced that they had committed no crimes, but Dr. Smith warned her that they may have unknowingly broken alien laws. Don noted that Dr. Smith was not named in the indictment and Dr. Smith assured him that it was because he was not guilty of any crime.

* * *

Don had trouble sleeping that night. He didn't share Maureen and John's confidence that everything would be ironed out in the morning. Judy found him staring out the lower viewport in the middle of the night when she went to the galley for a glass of water. "Don? What are you doing up?" she asked.

"Ah, worried, I guess," he answered.

She joined him. "About the tribunal?"

He shrugged, "Yeah. Like Smith said, who knows what laws we broke out there?"

"But how can we break laws we know nothing about?"

"Somehow I don't think ignorance is going to fly in court. I wish I knew what they had on us."

"Mom and Dad think that it's all a mistake."

"Well, Judy, your parents don't always like to see the negative…"

"Now don't start _that_ argument again…"

"No, I don't want to argue."

She came up behind him and started messaging his shoulders. "What can I do to ease your mind and help you sleep?"

"Keep doing what you're doing…"

She moved her hands down his chest and kissed his neck. "Can I go lower?"

"Sure…"

She moved her hands to his hips. "Lower?" she whispered.

He sighed. "Unless you're going to come to my room with me, I think you'd better stop."

She giggled and he brought her around to his lap. "I can take care of you, you know," she offered.

"Oh, I'm sure you can, and I'm tempted, but… that's not exactly how I'd like us to, uh, start…"

"How _would_ you like us to start?"

"Let's see. I haven't thought about it in a while."

"You haven't thought about sex?"

"The less I think about it, the better off I am… I've kind of become asexual, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean."

He chuckled. "Well, I'm with your Dad more than you… or anybody else, for that matter. That's enough to put sex out of my mind."

She was about to reply when the elevator rose and Penny came out. "Judy?" Penny called. "I was wondering where you were."

"What are you doing up?" Judy asked as she stood and took a step away from Don.

"I had a nightmare."

"What about?"

Before she could answer, Will climbed the ladder and joined them. "I had one too," Will said.

"About the tribunal?" Don asked.

Both Penny and Will nodded.

"Do you want to tell us about it?" Judy asked.

"I couldn't answer any of their questions," Penny said, "and they said that, since I couldn't tell them anything, we must all be guilty."

"That was kind of like my dream too," Will stated, "but they threw us all in jail."

"I guess you're both too worried to go to sleep, right?" Don asked. They both nodded. "Do we still have a Scrabble game on board?"

"No, we threw all our games into the junk pile when we took off from Priplanus," Will said.

"Mom and I retrieved them," Judy stated. "I'll get it. We'll play until you both get sleepy, okay?"

* * *

The three siblings slept late the next day, but Don was still worried as he had breakfast with John, Maureen and Dr. Smith. John was called to testify and Maureen asked him not to go. He reassured her that he would be fine and he stepped into the beam of light and disappeared. **"Poor Professor Robinson,"** Dr. Smith commented, **"Poor, poor man. I wonder if we shall ever see him again."**

* * *

John sat in a chair and was asked if he was ready to answer to the charges. He stated that he and the family had done nothing wrong, but the judge stated that the tribunal would decide on his guilt or innocence. **"Activate the memory machine," **the judge announced and two crystal spheres moved to either side of his head. He was asked to think back to the beginning of his journey and his memories appeared on a nearby video monitor.

"**Why that's Alpha Control,"** he commented. He was told that, according to his memory, the launch went perfectly. Then he was asked to account for why the ship was off course. He explained that Dr. Smith had been trapped on board, which upset the navigational balance of the ship. The 'judge' then asked why they did not return to Earth at that time. John answered that, **"Something went wrong with our robot's programming."** The memory machine was again activated and showed the robot destroying equipment and Don shouting that they were out of control. The memory machine was deactivated and John was dismissed and returned to the Jupiter.

John recounted his experience to his family and Don commented, **"That memory machine sounds like quite a piece of equipment."**

"**Truth serum with pictures," **Maureen added.

"**Yes. They'll be very little lying in that courtroom,"** John stated.

Dr. Smith and Don exchanged a few barbs about whether or not Dr. Smith's involvement would become an issue, and then Don was called to testify. They all walked outside of the Jupiter and Don turned to them and said, **"I'll see you folks later."** He took Judy's hands in his to reassure her, and then walked up to the beam of light.

"**Don't mention my name, Major,"** Dr. Smith called after him as John put an arm around his daughter to comfort her.

Don sat in the same chair as John had and an object was floated before him. He was asked if he had ever seen the object before, and he replied that it looked like a solar wrench from the _Jupiter 2_ and then he asked where they had gotten it. **"It was found floating in space,"** the judge replied. Don commented that it was the wrench John had lost when he went outside the Jupiter to fix the scanner towards the beginning of their journey. **"He lost a contaminated wrench," **the judge stated, **"a deadly danger to anyone who happened to come in contact with it."**

"**You don't understand. You see it wasn't his fault,"** Don said. He was told to explain and the memory machine whirred into action. Don states that their navigational scanner had been damaged in a meteor storm and John went out to fix it. He went on to say that John's lifeline broke, and he couldn't understand why because Dr. Smith had claimed that he had thoroughly checked the line himself. He explained how they were able to get John back into the ship, but then said that, **"The loss of the wrench was really my fault."**

"**I do not understand,"** the judge said.

"**I was the experienced space pilot."**

"**Yet, you let Professor Robinson go outside?"**

"**He was in command of the voyage. I had to follow his orders. He insisted on doing it himself."**

"**That's one explanation. Another would be that you didn't want to risk the danger."**

Don lost his temper and replied, **"You're way out of line! You're twisting the facts. I would have gone."**

"**That will be enough, Major West. This Tribunal will not tolerate anger."**

Don wanted to make a further statement, but he was dismissed.

Will was called next to testify and he was asked about his involvement on the Derelict spaceship. He had unwittingly defrosted the aliens on the ship and shortened their life span. He replied that he had no idea about that. He was told that ignorance of the law is no excuse, even for one so young. Will was told to give Dr. Smith a message – that he would be called to testify the next day.

That evening, the Robot hatched a plan to help Dr. Smith escape before he had to testify. The Robot hid him and Will behind him as they made their way to the fence. Will dug a hole underneath it and Dr. Smith escaped.

Dr. Smith was called to the tribunal the next morning. Will explained that he had escaped the night before. Will was told that he and his family would be severely punished for what Will had done. Everyone in the crew would receive five years imprisonment, but Will offered to find Dr. Smith and bring him back.

Will and the Robot found Dr. Smith enjoying a glass of wine at his still. He refused to return with Will, saying that it was a matter of survival. **"It is every man for himself,"** Smith stated.

The Robot took matters into his own claws. He picked Dr. Smith up under the armpits and commanded, **"If you will come with me, Dr. Smith. You will come back by your own decision, or I will carry you back."**

"**How dare you threaten me, you tyrannical tinplate. Unhand me at once, you hear?"** Dr. Smith demanded. Dr. Smith finally agreed to the Robot's command and added, **"I'll never forgive you for this. Never!"**

Dr. Smith reluctantly entered the beam. He attempted to explain his escape by saying that he feared that his testimony would hurt the others, but the memory machine was activated and showed Dr. Smith coming out from his hiding place on the day of the Jupiter 2 launch and reprogramming the robot. When he attempted to retell the story to adjust the facts in his favor, the television monitor showed static. His next testimony showed that it was he who defrosted the aliens on the Derelict, not Will.

The judge consulted with the jury and announced that the case against the Robinsons was dismissed. "Dr. Smith, however, was not a member of the original Robinson group and his case has been considered separately. We find that he has been responsible for all of the crimes charged against the Robinsons and have found him guilty on all counts. We recommend that the tribunal punish Dr. Smith to the limit of the law." Sentence was to be passed the next day and Dr. Smith was dismissed until that time.

* * *

John signed his name to an official looking document and passed it onto Don who read aloud as he laughed, **"Whereas we the undersigned do hereby swear and agree – Oh, John, I'll sign it, but Smith will never agree to this."**

Maureen commented that she thought it was unfair, but John asked her, **"Well, do you have any better ideas?"** The rest of the family joined them and asked what was going on. John asked them to sign the paper. **"We hope to influence the aliens to dismiss their charges against Dr. Smith."** Dr. Smith was appreciative of their efforts and was not hopeful that it would be successful. He took the petition from Judy, who was preparing to sign it. Don said that it was an appeal for clemency.

Dr. Smith read aloud, **"We, the undersigned, do hereby swear and agree that Dr. Zachary Smith cannot be held accountable for his past actions as he was mentally and emotionally disturbed."** Dr. Smith looked up. **"You're saying that I'm insane?"** He refused to go along with the idea.

Don approached him, **"… of course if you'd rather face the alien sentence – torture or some other fiendish punishment."**

Dr. Smith 'saw the light,' so to speak and demanded that everyone finish signing the petition.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

So the tribunal was quite an unsettling experience. Penny and I were very glad that we didn't have to testify… and poor Dr. Smith. The tribunal did accept our petition. It said that, although the laws of Earth and space are different, they did agree in one area and it was that anyone who is mentally incompetent cannot be held responsible for their actions. In addition, he was placed in the custody of the Robot who was to make his decisions for him and keep him out of trouble.

Now we're in another situation. Dr. Smith found an alien transfer machine and activated it…

* * *

**The Android Machine** (Written by **Bob and Wanda Duncan**)

… And out came a silver female android. Apparently he ordered it without knowing what he was doing. Her name is 'Verda' and she has a lovely figure with upswept eyebrows and these three – things – sticking out of her head – one on top and one on either side. She would be pretty were it not for those – things. She said that her purpose is to serve her master, who is Dr. Smith. I'm afraid he's going to take advantage of her.

Dad and Don are mining deutronium and I went to the mining site to tell them about the android. They've collected three canisters of fuel, but we need at least five and Don said that the vein was running dry. They showed me something else they're worried about. There are these three-toed footprints outside a cave and they think it's a nocturnal animal. Dad warned us all to stay away from that area. Don hopes that, if we don't bother it, it won't bother us. Let's hope he's right."

* * *

Judy worried needlessly about Smith taking advantage of Verda. He was not happy with her services, finding her too easily distracted and wanted to be rid of her. The Robot was also unhappy because she had taken over his role as tutor for the children. He warned Dr. Smith that the Robinsons would opt to keep Verda, which upset Smith even more. He realized that another body on board would mean that more fuel would be needed, lengthening their stay on the inhospitable planet.

Dr. Smith hatched a plan to rid himself of the android and he manipulated Verda into taking the children on a nature walk near the cave, hoping that an encounter with the three-toed monster would frighten Verda into leaving them. Verda put herself in danger to save the children and they ran for their father and Don. John killed the creature and thanked Verda for saving them.

That evening, the family had a double celebration after dinner. One was to thank Verda for her heroic efforts and the other was to celebrate Judy's twenty-first birthday. Verda was at first confused about the whole affair. She did not understand the fuss over her, but she was curious about the other reason for the celebration. When Maureen announced that the cake would be brought out in a few moments, Verda asked Don, "What is a birthday?"

"It's a celebration to commemorate the day you were born," he explained.

"Born?" she asked. "What is that?"

"I suppose for you, it would be the day you were made," Judy added.

"Oh, I see. And is there something special about the number – twenty-one?" Verda asked.

Will explained, "Well, on Earth, it means that you're not a kid anymore."

"Kid?"

"Yes," Penny responded. "It's a milestone in someone's life when they are no longer a child and are considered an adult."

Don moved his hand over Judy's and covered it, squeezing it a little tighter. John couldn't help but notice and stared at his daughter, longing for the days when he used to hold her in his arms and rock her to sleep. "Where had the years gone?" he asked himself

Maureen brought out the cake, and after a rousing birthday song, Judy made her wish and blew out the candles. Dr. Smith was first in line for a piece of cake. When all the pieces were distributed, he came back for seconds.

Afterwards, Don invited Judy on a short walk. As they made their way towards their usual spot, Maureen turned to John and asked, "Why have the years flown by so quickly? I remember when I fed her at my breast. It seems like it was just yesterday."

John smiled wistfully and nodded. "I was thinking the same thing myself. Looking at her and Don… it seems that it won't be long before they're rocking their own babies."

"Now, John, put that right out of your mind. This is no place to become pregnant and raise a family. That better be the furthest thing from their minds."

* * *

Unfortunately, it was on Don's mind and he couldn't ignore the thought. They settled into their niche in a bolder and stared up at the starlit sky. "The only thing missing tonight, Judy, was some champagne. I wish I had some to give you a proper celebration," Don said.

"Me too. I remember the last time I had it was at Mike and Sherry's wedding. I really enjoyed it that time."

"What do you mean, _that time_?"

"Well I had it at a cast party a few years before that and it went right to my head."

"Were you with a guy?"

"Yeah, Eddie. He tried to take advantage of me… more than once."

"Ooh… I guess he underestimated you."

"Yes he did."

"Did your parents give him a hard time?"

"Nothing like the hard time they gave you."

"Ha! And I'm the one who has always taken care of you."

"They know that, Don. They're ready to officially accept you into the family."

"I know… How about you?"

She shifted in his arms and didn't answer.

"Judy?"

"I guess so."

"You _guess_ so?"

"I'm not sure I want to be… tied down yet."

"Judy… ah… it sounds like you're having second thoughts about marrying me."

"Don, I'm twenty-one and I've only had two boyfriends in my life. You and Eddie."

"So?"

"So, I'd have liked to have had a few more experiences before I settle down."

"Settle down… as in settle down and have children?"

"Yes. We both know that now is not the time."

"Yeah… but… I thought we could at least talk about when we want that to happen."

"Don, please! Having children is the furthest thing from my mind right now."

"Then I guess marriage is pretty far from your mind too."

"Oh, Don, of course we'll get married someday…"

He had promised himself he'd be patient. For some reason, he thought that once Judy reached the age of twenty-one, something would change. He could see now that he still had a long wait ahead of him. He placed his hands under her armpits and lifted her away from him. "Let me know when that '_someday'_ is within the foreseeable future."

"Don, please don't be mad."

"I'm not mad, but I think it's time we got back to camp."

She stood and they walked back in silence.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

I'm twenty-one now. I don't know, I thought something magical would happen or that things would change, but nothing has. I'll always wonder if I would feel differently if we were back home, but turning twenty-one was certainly anti-climatic. There's nothing to celebrate. Drinking alcohol is not an issue, since we don't have any. Don was mad that I wasn't ready to talk about getting married. I'm beginning to feel smothered, Joan. Everyday is the same for us. Get up… survive… get up the next day to survive again…

Oh, by the way, our android is quickly becoming a part of the family. Her name is Verda and she's been teaching Will and Penny about the history of the galaxy. The owner of the machine, a Mr. Zumdish, came to get his payment. Actually he was the manager of some sort of galactic department store. Anyway, Dr. Smith claimed that Verda was defective and that he shouldn't have to pay. When Mr. Zumdish looked Verda over, he agreed with Dr. Smith. He said he would take her back and toss her into the recycling bin!

We're not about to let that happen. We've just voted that we're going to do everything we can to keep her. Will suggested that we trade deutronium for her. I hope Mr. Zumdish goes for the deal because Verda is not just a machine. She is becoming more and more human everyday."

* * *

Zumdish took the deal, but discovered that he had been mistaken about Verda. She was a much higher quality android than he had first thought. She was almost human, and, therefore, was worth much more than anything the Robinsons could pay for her. It also meant that she would not be destined for the scrap heap and Verda decided to go with Zumdish so she could be placed where she would truly be needed.

Later that evening, Judy and Don were on a rare moonlight walk. "Do you think Verda will be all right?"

"I think so, Judy. She seemed confident about her decision to leave."

"I just hope she'll be happy. Don, are you still mad at me about last night?"

"I wasn't mad."

"I think you were."

He rolled his eyes, "All right, maybe a little bit, but I was more disappointed than mad."

"Just give me time, Don."

"I guess I don't have much choice."

They found a rock to lean against, and Judy snuggled in Don's arms. "This is nice."

"Judy? I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Yes?"

"When that circus came through here and you sang for them… were you tempted to go with them?"

Judy didn't respond right away.

Fear crept into his consciousness. "Judy?"

"I'm not sure what to say."

"How hard could it be? Either you were tempted or you weren't."

"It's not that simple."

"Then talk it out with me."

"Performing again was… exhilarating."

He sighed. "I knew you'd miss the stage."

"But… I wouldn't have wanted to leave all of you and travel with them."

"Especially me?" he asked with a smile.

"Especially you."

He wanted to tell her how much he appreciated the personal sacrifices she had made to come on this voyage. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her gently, sweetly and just as their kiss deepened, the Robot approached them and told them that Professor Robinson wanted them back inside the ship. They had received information from the weather station that a storm was coming.

"I don't see any signs of a storm," Don stated.

"My sensors agree with you, Major West, but the Professor still ordered me to retrieve you and Judy Robinson," the Robot replied.

"All right, tell the professor we're coming."

"You are to return with me, Major."

Don rolled his eyes. "Someday, Judy, someday we'll have more than five minutes alone."

She laughed as they stood and returned to the ship.

The weather station was indeed faulty and the professor gave Dr. Smith and Will the task of repairing it. When John came to check on their progress, Dr. Smith declared that it was done. When he flicked the switch, however, sparks flew in all directions…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	4. Deadly Games & Thief from Outer Space

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinsons were called before a tribunal to face charges that they had broken laws in space. Although Major West and the Robinsons were exonerated, Doctor Smith was not. He was placed under the guardianship of the Robot only after the Robinsons asserted that he was quite insane. Dr. Smith then bought a female android named Verda from a machine owned by the Intergalactic Department Store. The children loved Verda, but she was thought to be defective and was to be turned into scrap metal, but she was found to be part human, and was, therefore, extremely valuable. She chose to go to a place where she was truly needed. Now, the weather station was not functioning properly and Dr. Smith was examining it when it seemed to be ready to explode…_

**The Deadly Games of Gamma 6** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

John turned off the machine, however, before he had a chance to check it, a male alien warrior walked up to them. John extended his hand in greeting and the warrior flipped him over his shoulder. John bested the male in defending himself and was approached by a self-proclaimed 'fight promoter,' Mr. Myko, who had a proposition for him. Mr. Myko felt that John had the intelligence, strength and agility to be a contestant in the Gamma Games. John was not interested, however, Dr. Smith couldn't resist negotiating on John's behalf. He promised to change Professor Robinson's mind in exchange for half of the winnings and passage to Earth. Myko make the deal.

Back at the Jupiter's campsite, Will was giving the family a blow-by-blow description of John's fight with the warrior.

"**Boy, I wished I'd been there,"** Don commented. **"You really covered yourself with glory."**

Maureen replied that John covered himself with his own blood too. **"Really, Don, I'm surprised at you," **Maureen said.

"**Oh, Don's not condoning the fight, darling. It's just that – well, when it's forced on you like that, you – you can't run away,"** John stated.

Judy agreed with her mother. **"Well, when your opponent is bigger and stronger than you are… it's only sensible to back away."**

Will's response confirmed the division of the sexes on this issue. "I think that's kind of cowardly."

Dr. Smith entered the discussion at that point. He did his best to manipulate John into accepting Myko's proposition, but he only succeeded in irritating not only Don, his usual victim, but John and Maureen as well. John stated that he would not fight and demanded that Smith get off his back.

Before Don and Judy turned in for the night, Judy asked him, "Don, what would you have done if you were in my father's shoes?"

"I don't know, Judy. If I thought I could compete and had a chance to win… maybe I would have agreed."

"Don! Why? To feed your ego?"

"Well, weren't you flattered when Marvello invited you to travel with the circus?"

"That was different."

"Different? How?"

"That was based on talent. Fighting is not a talent."

"Tell that to Mohammed Ali!"

"Oh, you would never have been invited to participate in the games anyway."

"So you're saying that I'm not as good as your father at fighting?"

"If I remember correctly, you haven't won one fight yet. In fact, if it weren't for me, you would have been pummeled by Mr. Hapgood."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence!" Don exclaimed and walked away.

Judy felt badly that she had bruised his feelings. She shrugged and told herself that he always wanted her to tell him the truth. And that was the truth.

* * *

Will was greatly disappointed that his father wouldn't join in the games and Dr. Smith played this to his advantage. John had a talk with Will. He acknowledged that Will was disappointed in him. **"Every son wants to feel that his father's the greatest, that he can succeed in anything."**

"**And you can too!"** Will commented.

"**No. No, Son, I can't. I'm a man like any other man. Some things I do well. Others I** **don't do so well."**

"**You could win in Mr. Myko's games. I know you could."**

"**Maybe. But I'm not a fighting man, Son. I'm a scientist. My battles are fought in a laboratory, not a prize ring. You understand."**

Will didn't, but he let the subject drop.

* * *

John, Maureen, Don and Judy were finishing up their dinner while Penny and Will ran off with Dr. Smith to help him 'train.'

"I can't believe Dr. Smith accepted Mr. Myko's invitation to the games," Judy stated.

"Yeah, and he's sure that he's going to win. Something just doesn't sit right with that," Don added.

"Well, Myko wanted an Earthling. I suppose when he couldn't get me, he recruited whomever he could," John said. "He must have promised him an awful lot to get him to take that risk."

"The only thing Dr. Smith would want is a return to Earth," Maureen said.

"I wouldn't trust Myko to follow through on any promise," Don said.

"Do you think Dr. Smith is in danger?" Judy asked.

"That's quite possible, Judy," John answered.

"And when Smith is in trouble, you know he drags the rest of us into it," Don added.

* * *

Suspecting deceit on Mr. Myko's part, Don and John visited his training camp and discovered the true purpose of the games. The participants were expected to be representatives of their home planets and the loser's planet would be attacked by the forces behind the games.

Dr. Smith, as expected by everyone but him, lost his bout. Will complained to Myko that the fight was unfair, but his complaint went unanswered. He realized that he had been wrong about being disappointed in his father's unwillingness to be a contestant in the games. **"Now, you just learned something through experience, Son. That's the best way,"** John commented.

"**What are we going to do now, Dad?"** Will asked.

"**Well the aliens think that the Earth people can be beaten easily. We're going to have to show them they're wrong."**

John jumped into the ring and requested a rematch with himself and bested Dr. Smith's opponent, but Myko said that it was too late to change the outcome. John then challenged Myko to the "Wheel of Life," a Russian Roulette type of game. Myko was unable to sustain the courage to finish the game. John commented that, **"…just because we don't want to fight doesn't mean we won't."** Myko respected this observation and stated that Earth would no longer be a target for invasion.

* * *

That evening a meteor storm had the family sequestered in the Jupiter. Upon leaving the ship after the storm, Penny found a golden bottle that reminded Maureen of an old television show. "It's like the bottle that genie lived in. What was the name of that show? I Dream of Jeannie?" she commented.

"Oh, I remember that show!" Don stated. "It was the one where the astronaut lived with the genie who always called him 'Master' and she would blink her eyes...'

"Don, you weren't even born when that show was on TV."

"I saw it in syndication. I watched anything that had to do with space."

"I don't think that show had a whole lot to do with space, Don. Are you sure you weren't watching it for another reason?" John teased.

"Well, I always did like blonds…" Don stated with a sidelong look at Judy. She tried to ignore him, but smiled behind her hand.

* * *

Will and Dr. Smith, as ordered by Professor Robinson, were checking on some equipment when they ran into a thief who stole their tools and swiped his sword at them…

* * *

**The Thief from Outer Space** (Written by **Jackson Gillis**)

The thief introduced himself as Sheik Ali Ben Bad, Terror of the Cosmos. He proved himself to be a cruel, heartless humanoid. When told that there were no 'rich people' on the planet, he threatened his own strong man with a whip because, as navigator, the poor man had said that the 'golden arrow' had pointed to this planet, but there was no treasure to be found. Then he and his subject disappeared.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Now I know we've been in space too long. Will and Dr. Smith recounted this fantastical tale about a thief and his slave who stole his tools and tool bag. Dad found no trace that anyone had been on the planet. I suppose he was just dreaming, or Dr. Smith planted those thoughts in his head.

Don and I have been having our ups and downs. He is so sensitive sometimes. All I did was tell him that he's not such a good fighter and he got upset. I don't know, Joan. He wants me to be honest with him and then he gets upset when I am. We still have a lot of work to do on our relationship.

Oh, oh… Mom said that Will and Penny are missing. I'll go out and help her look for them. It'll be dark soon and they should know better, but that never stops them from getting into trouble."

* * *

The children were nowhere to be found. Don had been tracking an asteroid that was orbiting their planet and he noted that it was getting closer. Little did they know that Penny, Will and Dr. Smith had all been transported to that asteroid, which was the home of the thief. The children, however, returned and confused their family by telling them to pretend that Will was not their son. They told Don to hide behind a rock and the thief appeared. John dueled with him and Don grabbed the man.

The thief had been looking for a beautiful princess who had many riches. In the ensuing confusion, Will discovered that the golden bottle Penny had found earlier was the home of the very princess the thief was searching for, but, when the thief set her free, he was quite disappointed that she was not the beautiful young woman he expected, and he returned her to her bottle.

Later that evening, when the children were discussing their experiences, Penny stated, "I'm glad that's over with. That man had no respect for women."

"Why should he? Women cause nothing, but trouble," Will commented.

"Now, Will, that's enough out of you," John commented. "Women have their place."

Maureen stared at her husband. "Have their place? And what place is that?"

John looked towards Don. "Don't look at me. I know when to keep my mouth shut," Don commented.

"Donald West! What do you mean by that?" Judy asked.

"Nothing!" Don replied.

Judy pressed on. "I'm sure you meant something. Now tell me what it was."

Don was incredulous. "Now I'm in trouble for what I _didn't_ say?"

Judy stood and exclaimed, "It was how you said it!"

Don looked helplessly at John.

Maureen stood up along with her. "Come along, girls. Let's see how well these men can get along without us. Good night, gentlemen." The women entered the ship and closed the hatch.

"Looks like we sleep outside tonight," John stated.

"Oh, no, we don't," Don stated. He went around to the ramp where the chariot was stored. Getting in was no problem, however, when Don went to open the door that led to the interior of the _Jupiter_, it was locked-up tight… Don banged on the door in frustration, then turned to Will and John and asked, "Who wants the front seat?"

* * *

The next evening, Penny and Will were out bird watching and having their usual argument about which gender was more intelligent when luggage was hurled out of a passing space ship. They opened up a trunk and found gambling articles, but before they could explore further, a moan caught their attention…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	5. Curse of Cousin Smith & West of Mars

_Last week, as you recall, Professor Robinson again saved Earth from invasion when he beat Mr. Myko in a Russian roulette game of nerves. Myko and his band left to find a less courageous species to fight. Then Will and Penny were caught up in the plan of a thief out to find, not only his princess, but also her treasure. When he saw that she was not the vision of his dreams, he returned her to her 'bottle' and hurriedly left. A new visitor fell out of the sky. Penny and Will rushed to him… _

**Curse of Cousin Smith** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

They found a man, unconscious, lying on his parachute. The rest of the family and Don came running towards him, and found that the man did not have serious injuries. Dr. Smith was behind them and screamed, "No!" when he saw the man and ran back to the ship. When the man came to and was asked his name, he replied, **"Have no fear, my good people, Jeremiah Smith is here."**

Dr. Smith hid from the family the rest of the night. After a good meal and coffee, Jeremiah discussed his wanderings. He considered himself a man of the universe, **"ever in quest of new sights and sensations."**

Judy commented, **"Well I'm afraid you made a mistake by coming here. There isn't much to see or do."**

"**Oh, not at all, my dear,"** he replied. **"Allow me to say that no matter where you are, life is just as exciting as you make it."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

We had another visitor, and it was none other than Dr. Smith's cousin, Colonel Jeremiah Beauregard Smith. He was a gambler and card shark… quite entertaining. He was also very much like Dr. Smith. He didn't like to work and loved to eat. Dr. Smith refused to see him, though. He ran away from camp and said that he wouldn't come back until his cousin was gone. It turns out that they were both the last heirs of their rich Great Aunt Maude. The sole survivor was to inherit her fortune, which Colonel Smith claimed to be "millions."

They've been trying to eliminate each other for years. Don suggested that we just let them fight it out, but Dad didn't agree. A gambling machine appeared and both of the Smiths lost the inheritance to the machine. Not only that, they still owed the machine money and the owner, someone named 'Little Joe,' wanted to kill one of the Smiths as payment, but Dad came to their rescue. He gambled with the machine using the old 'shell game' that a boyhood friend had taught him. Thank goodness he won.

Then Dr. Smith's cousin Jeremiah just disappeared. Apparently, Jeremiah was the one who ordered the gambling machine and Mr. 'Little Joe' zapped him up to have a word or two with him. Dr. Smith was more than happy to see him leave. Will was hoping his trunk with all of the gambling games had been left behind, but that was gone to. And to coin a phrase that Dr. Smith would have used, "Good riddance!"

* * *

Don stopped by Judy's room just as she finished her latest entry to her cousin. "Hey, Judy, how about a walk?"

She looked up from the recorder and shrugged. "All right. I guess it's the usual walk to the rock, look at the stars and come back inside?"

"Uh, well, yeah. What else did you want to do?"

"Oh… I guess that's better than nothing."

He folded his arms. "You know there was a time when a walk with me was enough to get you excited."

"Oh, Don. That was when I was young and naïve."

He laughed. "And now you're what… old and wise?"

"I certainly feel old."

"You just turned twenty-one!" He took her hand. "Let me see what we can do to put you in a better mood." They left the ship and he led her to their usual spot. They settled in and he asked. "So, what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, Judy. What did I do?"

"Nothing!"

"Well, something's wrong."

"Oh, it's just so… boring on this planet. I can't stand it anymore."

He looked up to the stars and had no idea what to say. "Judy… is it me you're bored with?"

She didn't answer right away, which worried him. "No… it's not you… it's just being… stuck."

He couldn't believe he was looking towards a Smith for advice. "Judy, there was one thing Jeremiah said that made a lot of sense."

"What was that?"

"That life is just as exciting as you make it."

"Nothing could make my life more exciting."

"How about this?" He kissed her neck. "…And this…" He kissed her cheek. "…And this…" He turned her face towards his and kissed her lips. She sighed and he pulled back. "Judy, what the hell is it?"

She sat up. "I'm sorry. I'm just in a bad mood. We should go back."

He gave up. "If that's what you want…"

He helped her up and they walked back to the Jupiter in silence. John met them in the hatch. "Oh, good, you're back. I was just about to close up." Judy and Don nodded to him and Judy descended to the lower deck. John looked at Don and asked, "Problems?"

Don nodded. "Yeah. I just wish I knew what they were." He retreated to his room. Don racked his brain for anything he might have done lately to upset Judy and came up empty. He shrugged and prepared for bed. _'Whatever it is,'_ he thought, _'will come out sooner or later.'_

Judy wasn't sure herself what was bothering her. She had reached her limit of being able to tolerate the tedious life they had been living. The boredom was relentless. All she did was tend the garden and help her mother with the routine household chores. Yet, she knew that it was more than that. Before they had lifted off from Earth, she had naively believed that she had found her 'Prince Charming' and that they would live 'happily ever after.' She had believed that, as long as she and Don were together, she would be content with her life. _'If this is happily ever after,'_ she thought, _'I'm in trouble.'_

* * *

Things were back to normal the next day. Judy was out of her 'bad mood,' and chores were waiting. The family was together at lunch, but Dr. Smith was told that he wouldn't have lunch until he completed his morning work, which was to gather cobalt ore. He grudgingly left the campsite and returned to the mining area. He gave a semblance of work, and Will brought him dessert, but, before he could eat it…

* * *

**West of Mars** (Written by **Michael Fessier**)

... a 'speaker' box landed and was activated. An announcement was made: **"Now, hear this! Now, hear this! Hear this, Zeno. This is space Enforcer Claudius. I know you fled to this planet and I have zeroed into your hiding place. I am coming in for a landing near you. Surrender, and I guarantee you a fair trial. Refuse, and you die. Remember… the reward for your capture is the same… be you alive or be you dead. Your days as a superswift are over, Zeno."**

Dr. Smith was sure that the 'superswift' gunslinger was out to kill him. He and Will did not see the black clothed gunslinger, who could have passed for Dr. Smith's twin brother, sneak out from behind a rock and follow them. The enforcer's ship landed and Smith exclaimed that they had been saved. Will ran off to meet the ship, but Dr. Smith was detained by his look alike and was forced to trade clothes.

Dr. Smith was ordered to surrender by Zeno. Not only did he surrender, he also confessed to all twenty-five killings. He and Will were whisked into the enforcer's spaceship… Smith to stand trial and Will as the witness to his confession…

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Something landed last night and the Robot told us that it was a law enforcer who took Will with him as a witness to something, but we don't know what. The Robot said Will would be returned after the trial, but it just makes no sense to us at all. And then there's Dr. Smith… He is acting totally out of character. He is teaching Penny to play galactic poker as I speak."

* * *

Judy was tending the garden and Zeno/Smith walked up to her. **"Hi, Judy, baby."**

"**Dr. Smith, I wish you'd stop looking at me like that,"** Judy warned him.

"**I was thinking what a feasible facial structure you have."**

"**Whatever that means."**

"**What I mean is… I once saw the Temple of Aphrodite on the planet Apollo. Compared to you—"**

"**I wish you'd go away. You've been acting very strange lately, Dr. Smith."**

"**The moonlight brings out the best in me. And there'll be two great big moons tonight."** Don approached them and Smith greeted him. **"Hello, Major."** Smith picked a flower. **"How aromatic."** He eyed Don. **"How delicate. How dainty."** He looked at Judy. **"See you around, pussycat." **He winked at her and walked away.

"Pussycat?" Don repeated as they watched Smith leave.

Judy shrugged and Don seemed puzzled, but unconcerned. "Dr. Smith gives me the creeps lately," Judy commented.

"Yeah, well, he's _always_ given me the creeps," Don stated.

"That's not what I meant, Don. He's been looking at me… in a certain way… It makes me uncomfortable."

Don started to laugh. "You don't think Smith is hitting on you, do you?"

"What's so funny about that?"

"Well, Judy, we're talking about _Smith_, here."

"We're also talking about me. Don't you think someone besides you could find me attractive?"

"Sure, but _Smith_? It must be your imagination."

Judy placed her hands on her hips. "My imagination!"

"Yeah, I think you feel neglected and need some male attention, which, by the way, I came to provide…"

"Donald West, I don't need attention from you!" she huffed and stomped into the Jupiter, almost running over her parents as they left the ship.

Don threw his hands in the air and looked at them helplessly. "_Now_ what did I do?"

"Maybe she just needed some attention," John suggested.

"That's what I was trying to give her," Don responded.

"So what happened?"

"She said that Smith was hitting on her, and I told her it was her imagination."

"Oh, Don," Maureen stated, "You didn't!"

"Maureen, we're talking about _Smith!_"

"He has been acting out of character lately, carrying that six shooter and smoking," John stated. "Maybe he has been bothering her. I'll go talk with her."

"And I'll give Don a lesson on women," Maureen stated.

Don was in no mood to listen. "You know, Maureen, I'm not so sure _I'm_ the one who needs the lesson," he said as he walked away.

* * *

John found Judy fuming in her room, pulling her tape player out so she could vent to her cousin. "Judy? Can I talk with you?" John asked.

"Did Don send you?" Judy asked.

"No. I was worried about you myself. It sounds like Dr. Smith has been bothering you."

"He has, but that's not the problem. I can handle Dr. Smith."

"Don?"

She frowned. "He takes me totally for granted."

"Well, with no competition, that's easy to do."

"Don't defend him, Dad. You don't take Mom for granted, and you've been married forever."

He laughed. "Yes, I suppose that's true, but your mother doesn't let me get away with taking her for granted. How about if I talk to him… man to man?"

"No, Dad, please don't do that. He should know how to act without someone telling him what to do."

"Well, all right, Judy, but just let me know if you change your mind."

"Thanks, Dad."

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Don has been so… I don't even know what to call it. He was so romantic when we were back home. Remember those yellow roses he gave me? Now I'm lucky if I even get a peck on the cheek. Oh, but that's not totally true. He tried to get amorous a couple of days ago, but it was when we took a walk to our usual rock and had two minutes alone. As soon as we're within sight of my parents, he acts like he's my brother.

I am so bored with all of this! I want some romance in my life! It's been ages since he told me that I look nice, or that he loves me. I don't know… maybe it's me. Ever since that circus came through, I've been moody and irritable. Maybe I should have taken them up on their offer… oh, but that's not what I want either. I don't know what's wrong with me, Joan, but I do know that I'm not happy with Don right now.

Oh, and the Dr. Smith/Zeno thing has been settled. The galactic enforcer was going to take them both into custody, but Dad argued with him, so he was going to take Dad into custody too, but Don reached for the enforcer's extra gun and told him that he'd have to take him too. What was Don trying to prove? He just would have gotten himself into trouble. Luckily, Zeno ran off and tried to steal the enforcer's ship, so the enforcer knew which one was Zeno. I suppose he took off after him. Someday, Zeno will stand trial.

And as far as Don is concerned… well let's see if he learns to appreciate me a little bit more if I just ignore him…"

* * *

Don went looking for Judy that evening, and found her playing a board game with the children. "Hey, Judy, how about a walk?"

"Not right now, Don."

"Oh… Later?"

"Maybe."

"You can go, Judy, Will and I can finish playing without you," Penny encouraged.

"No, I said I'd play with you and that's what I'm going to do."

"I'll go for a walk with you, Don," Will offered.

"No offense, Will, but…"

Penny kicked Will under the table. "Ouch! Why did you do that, Penny?" She tilted her head towards Judy and Don. "Oh, oh, I get it… their walk is like a date or something…"

"Can we just get back to the game?" Judy asked.

"Catch you later, Judy," Don said and Judy shrugged.

He went looking for her a later and found her ready for bed. "Judy? I thought we were going for a walk?"

"I'm tired tonight. Some other time."

* * *

The next morning, Will and Dr. Smith were bird watching and came upon a lyre, which was encrusted with what Dr. Smith thought were precious stones. He played three notes on the lyre and was transported to a place of fire and brimstone! Dr. Smith faced a man dressed in red who said, **"Well, Zachary, so you finally got here."**

"**Good heavens!" **Dr. Smith replied.

The sinister man laughed and stated, **"Guess again…"**

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	6. A Visit to Hades

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinsons were visited by Dr. Smith's cousin, Jeremiah, in an attempt to inherit the Smith family fortune, but both he and Dr. Smith gambled it all away. Then Dr. Smith was mistaken for a look alike gunslinger, a superswift, who was wanted by the law, but the criminal showed his true colors and Dr. Smith was free. While walking with Will, however, Dr. Smith found a lyre and when he plucked three strings, was transported to a place of fire and brimstone… _

**A Visit to Hades** (Written by **Carey Wilber)**

Dr. Smith told no one about his encounter… not even Will. The sinister man was named **"Morbus"** and he challenged Smith to break the lyre, which was the key to his prison, and set him free.

The family gathered for breakfast, but Judy decided not to join them, saying that she wasn't hungry. Maureen asked her where she was going and Judy said that she was going for a walk and added, **"Is there any rule against that?"**

"**I will not have you taking that tone of voice with me, Judy,"** Maureen stated.

"**I'm not a child anymore, Mother. I would just like to be alone once in a while without someone always asking me where I'm going."**

Maureen relented and told her not to go too far. John approached his wife and asked, **"Trouble?"**

"**Oh, those growing pains,"** Maureen replied.

"**You want me to talk to her again?"**

"**No. No. She'll be all right. She'll get over it in time."**

They returned to the table and John asked Don, "Did you and Judy have a fight last night?"

Don was puzzled. "No. We didn't even spend any time together. In fact, she's been really distant lately." He sipped his coffee and his voice lowered. "I don't know… ever since that circus came through…"

"It seems to me that the girl is simply coming to her senses, Major. She is far too good for the likes of someone like you," Dr. Smith stated.

Don's patience was on its last thread. "You know, Smith, if I'd wanted your opinion, I would have asked you for it."

"Now, now, Major… so reactive… is it any wonder she no longer wants to be with you?"

Don jumped up and was ready to grab Smith by the collar when John intervened. He placed a hand on Don's shoulder and eased him back into his seat.

Maureen wondered if she was right about the growing pains… "John had mentioned that you and Judy were making some plans back when we hoped to return to Earth, Don."

"Yeah, but that's all by the wayside now," he replied.

"Would you care to share?" John asked.

Don thought about it moment. "Uh, no. Not without Judy here."

* * *

While on her walk, Judy encountered Mr. Morbus, but he was nothing like the sinister man whom Dr. Smith had met. He was rather charming and Judy felt an instant affinity for him. Judy took his hand and brought him to meet the family.

Dr. Smith immediately left the area, as neither he nor Mr. Morbus admitted to already having met earlier. Morbus was invited to breakfast and made his way to a seat beside Don. Don, for his part, never took his eyes off Judy. Her mood had drastically changed, and she was more animated than he had seen her in a long time.

The Robot entered camp warning about a dangerous alien life form, but was secretly zapped by Morbus before he could continue. Don was immediately suspicious of Judy's new friend and commented that Morbus was the only other life form in the area. Judy was upset with Don's attitude and when the Robot was given a new power pack, it had no memory of the warning and when asked about Mr. Morbus, stated that he was obviously human.

"**Satisfied, Major West?"** Morbus asked.

"**I guess I don't have any choice at the moment, do I?"** Don replied and stomped off.

Judy apologized for Don and Morbus commented, **"Oh, I can understand the purely human emotion of jealousy."**

"**Don jealous? Of whom?"** she asked.

"**Well, perhaps he sees in me a rival for the only prize worth taking on this planet."**

They walked off together and Judy asked Morbus about his home, Lyrae, which he described as a musical place full of song. Judy was entranced. It sounded like a planet she would enjoy and she asked why he had left. He said that he had tried to **"stir things up a bit," **and was asked to take a vacation of sorts. Then he asked Judy about herself.

"**What about me?"** she asked, obviously flattered by his attention.

"**Oh, life, love the pursuit of happiness – that sort of thing. How do things stand between you and Major West?"**

Judy sighed and shrugged, **"Well—"**

"—**Ah, like that."**

"**Oh, I suppose someday we'll marry. Everyone seems to think we're a good match."**

"**Except you."**

"**Well, a girl likes to have a choice."**

* * *

While Judy was off with Morbus, Don checked on the chariot, but there wasn't much work to be done on it at the moment. He paced back and forth in front of the vehicle and vented his frustrations to himself as he mumbled, "Morbus… he's old enough to be her father… And she's all smiles around him…" He slammed his hand hard against the vehicle and then pulled it away, trying to shake off the pain. _'Well, this isn't doing me any good,'_ he thought. _'Maybe John's found out more from the Robot.'_

* * *

In the meantime, Dr. Smith approached the harp and tried to break it, but then realized the power he had in his hands. He played several notes on the lyre and Morbus ran to him, covering his ears in pain. Smith asked for riches, power and a return to Earth. Morbus made a deal with him, but only if he could find the correct notes to free him. Dr. Smith played several notes over and over and Morbus couldn't stand it anymore. He ran into the keyhole where the lyre sat and Judy ran up behind him to see if he was all right. Then they both disappeared. Smith threw the lyre down in fear and ran back to camp.

* * *

John and Will were still trying to find out why the Robot had no memory of his warning, and Don joined them. A few moments later, Maureen came out of the space ship and asked to speak with them. She was concerned because Judy had gone for a walk with Morbus two hours ago and had yet to return.

"**Why'd you let her go?"** Don asked.

"**Well, after all, Don, she's pretty much grown up now,"** Maureen answered.

Don shrugged and thought that he didn't need Maureen to tell him that. He'd known that long before her parents did.

Will then called them over to hear what the Robot had to say. He had repaired its memory circuits and the Robot had information for them on the alien. Don asked if he was referring to Morbus, and the Robot replied, **"Affirmative,"** and suggested that they ask Dr. Smith about Judy's whereabouts, as he was the one responsible for releasing the alien. **"John, I swear – this time, I'm gonna tear that phony apart,"** Don threatened.

At that moment Smith came sauntering into camp. Don attacked him and demanded to know about Morbus, but Smith feigned ignorance. The Robot stated, **"Dr. Smith, you are telling a nonfact."**

Smith tried to talk his way out of the situation, but Don wouldn't let him off the hook. **"You've got ten seconds to start talking!"** Don exclaimed.

Smith pleaded for protection from John. **"Professor, will you permit this outrage?"** he asked. John was as anxious about Judy as Don was and refused to play along with Smith's game.

"**Will, let's go inside. I think Don would like to talk to the good doctor in private,"** John stated. Smith finally broke down and told them the whole story. John and Don retrieved their weapons and dragged Smith along with them to look for Judy.

* * *

Judy found herself imprisoned with Morbus' in a time and space warp. He had been trying to get out for ten or twelve thousand years, but the harp would always bring him back because it was the harp that had created the prison. He hoped he could escape if the lyre could be broken. Judy asked him when that could happen, and he replied that he wouldn't get another chance for a thousand years or so. That was when Judy panicked. She had no idea what she was doing. All she knew was that she had to get out of that place. The more she tried, the more desperate she became until she finally reverted to the behavior of a three year, crying uncontrollably, which upset Morbus to no end.

* * *

Dr. Smith lead Don and John to the keyhole shaped niche and begged them not to pursue the matter. The Robot explained that the lyre was the key and that Dr. Smith knew the sequence of notes needed to descend to the home of the alien. Don forced Smith to play the notes and Smith was transported back to the fire and brimstone world outside Morbus' door.

Don said that he would go after Judy, but John balked, saying, **"She's my daughter."**

"**I have strong feelings towards her too,"** Don replied, so John insisted that they both go and they were transported. John suggested that they separate to search for Judy.

* * *

Judy became more and more hysterical. She admitted to herself that it was mostly an act. She thought that if she was obnoxious enough, Morbus would find a way to send her back home. The monitor came to life and Judy switched off her childish antics and joined Morbus in looking at the monitor. They saw Smith running and crying out for help, so Morbus left to investigate.

Don also heard Smith's cries and took his blaster out of the holster. Morbus stopped Don from shooting the creature that was after Smith because it kept out the 'vermin.' He ordered Don to pick up the harp and took him back to his quarters, but he refused to take Smith.

* * *

Morbus knew he was stuck with both Judy and Don in his prison. Don, for his part, was upset with both Morbus and Judy. The more Morbus talked, the angrier Don became. Judy tried to deny his allegations that she was **"singing sad songs because there was no romance in her life. Why do you think I chose to visit you in the first place?"** Morbus asked. **"To bring a little sunshine into your drab existence."**

Don was disgusted with both of them and was on the edge. Morbus warned Don that Judy would drown him in tears.

"**Now just a moment, here, Morbus!"** Don stated. He was angry and had to take it out on someone…

"**Don, control yourself,"** Judy told him.

"**Yes, Don, you'd better control yourself,"** Morbus repeated. **"I may be forced to do something unpleasant,"**

"**Oh, yeah?" **Don replied. **"Now, just what is it you think you're gonna do?"**

"**Oh, boy. This is gonna be a happy threesome through all eternity,"** Morbus commented.

"**No, never mind that. Just repeat what you just said,"** Don stated.

"**All right. I said, 'Don, control yourself' and stop acting like a child or I may have to treat you like one,"** Morbus explained.

"**Yeah?"**

"**Not a very articulate child either,"** Morbus commented as he walked away.

Don followed him. **"Okay, Morbus, now you listen, you just – "**

Judy tried to intervene. **"Please! You're not making anything easier."**

"Judy, you just stay out of this," Don told her and he confronted Morbus in a fighter's stance. **"Okay, I'm ready. Come on."**

Morbus had no intention of fighting and tried to get Don to back down, but Don was past the point of no return. He thought this was his opportunity to redeem himself in Judy's eyes. Judy tried to get them to stop, but Don admonished her to stay out of it. **"I've been waiting for this moment for a long while,"** Don commented, still haunted by Judy's comments about his fighting skills.

Morbus finally gave in, and took his own fighter's stance. Don threw a punch and Morbus disappeared and reappeared three feet away. Don gave it two more tries and the same thing happened. He finally yelled in frustration, **"Will you stay still so I can hit ya!"** Morbus gave in and Don swung and felt like his hand had hit a stone wall. Morbus tried to apologize, but Don told him to stay away from him. Judy ran over to help Don and grabbed the harp. She aimed it over Morbus' head, but hit Don instead. Don fell to the floor unconscious and the harp lay at his side in pieces.

Morbus saw that the harp was broken. His prison bars rose and he was free. As Don came to, Morbus realized that the harp could only be broken by **the "pure in heart, the ingenuous… the kind and generous spirits of this world like you. You are the only people who could smash the harp and set me free."**

John came rushing in and Judy, kneeling by Don's side, assured him that Don wasn't really hurt and that it had all been her fault. They followed Morbus out as the ceiling started to cave in over their heads, and the three of them reappeared in the keyhole niche. Maureen and Will were waiting and Judy ran to them saying that she never wanted to leave any of them ever again. Smith was found hanging in a tree, and they were able to retrieve him after much pulling, tugging and ripping of his trousers.

* * *

Later that evening, Dr. Smith's pants had been mended, but the same couldn't be said for Don and Judy's relationship. Dinner had been a lively affair, with Smith and Judy recounting their experiences to the family. Don, however, was uncharacteristically quiet as he tried to eat. Smith's appetite was quite robust as he complained, "I hope the man gets thrown back into prison... tricking me into believing that he was the Prince of Darkness… Humph."

"Oh, Dr. Smith, he wasn't that terrible," Judy commented. "He was quite kind, actually… and charming too." Don winced when she made that statement.

Maureen had been watching Don the entire evening. Not only was she concerned that he was suffering from a possible concussion, but she worried about his ego. "Don?" she asked, "Are you feeling nauseous?"

He shrugged. "Just not hungry." Then he rubbed his neck and pushed his plate aside.

Maureen stood and went into full mother mode. "Come with me. You can't put me off any longer."

"I'm all right."

"Well, you'll have to prove it to me by letting me take a good close look at you, and no arguing, young man."

Don sheepishly stood and allowed Maureen to lead him into the _Jupiter_. Judy watched them leave and guilt overwhelmed her. If he was hurt, it was her fault. What bothered her even more was how she had purposely ignored him the previous evening, which she knew probably hurt him more than the bump on is head.

John looked at his oldest daughter and wished he could help. Don had become his closest friend and he didn't want to see either one of them hurt. "Do I have your permission to talk with Don now?" he asked her.

Judy folded her arms and shook her head. "No, Dad. I think I should do that myself… but thank you."

* * *

Maureen diagnosed Don with another mild concussion. They were becoming routine for him by now. "You know the drill, Don. We'll wake you up every hour tonight."

"I'll be all right."

"I'm sure you will, but I'm still going to be sure you're taken care of."

"Thanks."

"Don? Do you mind if I ask you about Judy?"

A slight crease appeared on his forehead. "What about her?"

"Judy told me that – you and she almost eloped on the night your car exploded."

"So, she finally had the courage to talk to you about it?"

"Yes. John knows too. Don, I know we didn't welcome you with open arms back then, but now – well – now you know that we would both be proud to have you as a son-in-law."

"I, uh, I appreciate that, Maureen, but, uh, I'm… I'm not so sure that's going to happen now."

"Is it because you don't want it to?"

He wrinkled his brow. His head was aching now and he was finding it hard to think straight. "I don't… I do… I… I just want her to be happy."

"And you don't think she can be happy with you?"

"I don't know anymore, Maureen." He squeezed his eyes shut as the ache worsened. "May I have some aspirin?"

"Not tonight. It'll mask any other symptoms you might develop. Come on, I'll take you to your room and give you an ice pack."

* * *

John, Will, Penny… even Dr. Smith came to visit him as he was trying to get some rest… everyone but the one person he was desperate to see. Finally, Judy approached his open door and saw him sitting on his bed, one foot up with his knee bent and the other on the floor. His head was leaning against the wall and his eyes were closed while he held an ice pack to his bump. Penny gave Judy a nudge and said, "Go ahead. You know he wants to see you." Judy looked doubtfully at her sister, and Penny rolled her eyes and walked away shaking her head.

Don had no idea she was in the doorway and he flung the ice to the floor in frustration and then rubbed his eyes.

Judy rushed to his side. "Don?" she asked, "are you all right?"

His hands fell to his lap as he opened his eyes and shook his head.

"Do you want me to get my mother?"

He shook his head again. "Judy, I'm sorry."

She peered into his face and saw the pain there, but it was more than just a headache… the emotional hurt she had caused him was evident too. "No, Don. _I'm_ sorry. I know I hurt you."

"I'll survive."

"I'm not talking about the harp. I'm talking about… everything else."

"Everything else as in…"

"Oh, Morbus… you… me… us…"

He put his elbow on his bent knee and rubbed his forehead. The pain just wouldn't stop, but he had to ask the next question. "Is there still an… us?" He couldn't bring himself to look at her for fear of what her answer might be.

Judy stood and closed his bedroom door. She knelt in front of him and gently moved his foot from the bed to the floor and then moved in between his knees. She took both his hands in hers and brought his palms to her lips, planting a kiss on each one. She placed his hands around her neck and then rubbed his thighs, leaning in towards him.

Encouraged, he opened his eyes and found her inches away from his face. Her hands traveled up his hips and his chest to his temples and she gently messaged them to soothe his pain. He bent his head so their foreheads touched. His hands slid down her back and he pulled her close. He whispered her name and she kissed him, hoping to erase all the doubts that had built up over the last twenty four hours.

"I'm sorry, Don. I was acting like a child," Judy confessed when their lips parted.

"No, I was..." he started to say, but she interrupted him.

"You didn't see me crying before you came in with Morbus. I was having a two year old temper tantrum."

He managed a chuckle. "And I was acting like a twelve year old, but… I was scared."

"Of losing me?"

"Yeah… and I couldn't figure out what I had done wrong and now… I know you need more romance in your life."

"It's not just romance, Don. I thought I needed more... men in my life, but when I saw you lying there on the floor, unconscious, I knew that what I _really_ needed was more… _you_."

"More me?" he repeated.

She nodded.

"I can do that," he promised. "Starting now…" He pulled her in for another kiss and there was a knock on the doorframe.

"Don? Judy?" Maureen called. They parted and sighed together. Judy stood and opened the door. "This is my first hourly check, Don," Maureen announced. She walked over and checked Don's eyes. "You seem better. How do you feel?"

"The headache is still there, but everything else is better… much better," Don replied.

"And I'll check on him tonight, mother, just like I did last time," Judy offered.

"Well, all right, but remember to keep the door open."

She rolled her eyes, but said, "We will."

"Good." Maureen turned to go, but looked over her shoulder before she crossed the threshold. "And I'm glad you're both back on track."

* * *

"Dear Joan,

I know you would have tried to talk some sense into me before I let myself get so taken in by Morbus' charm, but I almost feel like it was something Don and I had to go through to get our relationship back in balance. There have been so many highs and lows since we left. I wonder what our lives would have been like if there had been no mission. Oh, I know, I probably never would have met him, but I believe in my heart that we were meant to be. If there hadn't been a mission, we would have gotten together one way or another.

We are trying to keep our relationship on track. Last night we went bowling (somehow our bowling equipment was overlooked when we were tossing out our non-essential equipment) and today he's going to teach me how to make Boston Cream Pie. He never told us he can cook! He was probably afraid we'd assign him galley duty."

While Judy and Don were cooking in the galley, Will and Dr. Smith were using the bowling equipment that had been left out the night before by Don. While investigating the appearance of a golden ball, Will and Smith encountered the dreaded Saticons, the very aliens that Jimmy Hapgood had warned them about…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	7. Wreck of Robot & Dream Mnstr &Golden Man

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinsons were visited by an alien whom Dr. Smith was convinced was the devil himself, but the man was a political prisoner who had taken a shine to Judy, causing problems between her and Don. Professor Robinson and Major West rescued Judy from a lifetime in prison with the alien, and Judy emerged with a new found appreciation for Major West and her entire family. Will and Dr. Smith were about to encounter another alien species that had evil intentions towards Earth…_

**Wreck of the Robot** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

As John was reluctantly helping Maureen with the laundry, Will and Dr. Smith came running into camp with the Robot and reported their alien encounter while bowling. The Robot informed the Robinsons that the aliens wanted to take possession of him, but he had no idea why they wanted him. He was convinced, however, that their intentions were sinister. The Robot offered to give himself up to the aliens, but Maureen balked at his suggestion. **"Oh, you'll do no such thing. Now, you're part of this family. And what happens to you happens to all of us."**

The family gathered for dinner and shared their experiences of the day. Dr. Smith could not contain his fear that they were in deadly peril from the aliens that he and Will had encountered. **"They said that we could never get away from them and that our fate was already sealed,"** Will explained.

"What could they mean by that?" Penny asked.

"I hope we never find out," Judy stated.

"**Now, we're perfectly safe inside the ship,"** Maureen said.

"**But from now on, we stay armed and travel outside in pairs,"** John commanded.

"**Little good that will do us, professor. We're doomed, I tell you. The Saticons will not leave until they have us under their power,"** Dr. Smith commented.

"Dr. Smith, as I told you today, we'll be fine. And it's almost time for dessert! How did your student do today, Don?" Maureen asked.

Don stood. "I'll let you judge for yourself." He brought the pie over and let Judy do the honors of passing it out.

John took a bite and told Judy, "This is excellent."

"Well, I had a good teacher," she said.

Don winked at Judy and Penny rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. They made goo-goo eyes at each other the whole time. If I wasn't there to keep them focused, the pie would never have been made."

* * *

The children were asleep and Judy was in the shower when Dr. Smith snuck into the galley for what was left of the pie. A whirring noise frightened him and he hurried to Don and John, who were playing a game of chess. "The aliens are attacking!" Dr. Smith cried, but Don explained that the sound was the new oxygen unit he installed on the purification system. John further explained that the sound would decrease with some use.

He reached for a chess piece to make his next move when a voice was heard saying, **"Professor Robinson."** John looked at his chess piece that seemed to be speaking to him.

"**They're here in this room,"** Smith commented.

"**Do not look for us, Professor Robinson,"** the voice stated.

"**Doomed! We're doomed,"** Smith lamented.

The voice ordered John to come to them so they could speak with him in person. If he refused, the voice stated that they would seek him out and find him. Despite Maureen and Smith's warnings to stay put, he decided to go. He stood and left the table. Don said that John was right and that he would go with him. John brought a laser pistol to Don and they proceeded to corral Dr. Smith into coming with them, since he knew the location of the alien camp.

Judy came out of the lavatory and looked around. "Where is everybody? I thought Dad and Don were playing chess," she asked.

"**They've gone off to talk with the Saticons,"** Maureen explained.

"**What! That could be dangerous!"**

"**I know, and I'm just as worried as you are, but if they didn't go to the aliens, the aliens would have come to us."**

"Oh, Mom," Judy said as she sat down. **"Did** **Dr. Smith go with them?"**

Maureen nodded.

"**Now I'm really worried,"** Judy commented.

"**Don promised they'd be careful.** Why don't we continue their chess game until they come back."

* * *

It wasn't long before the men returned. "What happened?" Maureen asked.

"**They offered to buy the Robot from us,"** John explained.

"**And you should have agreed, Professor,"** Dr. Smith stated.

"We can't give them the Robot, Dr. Smith," Judy said. "We need him. And besides, he's like part of the family. Why it would be like turning _you_ over to them."

"If they wanted Smith, I would have agreed in a heartbeat," Don said. Judy shot him a warning look, and he threw up his hands. "Just kidding… almost."

Judy was about to admonish him again, but the twinkle in his eye stopped her. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

"**Stay alert and armed,"** John said. **"We'll do all we can to protect the Robot."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Our Robot has been acting very strangely since these aliens have expressed an interest in him. He is actually showing fear, which I'm sure wasn't programmed into him. It's almost like he's becoming human. Dr. Smith called him a 'quivering quintessence of fear' and wanted to turn him over to the aliens. He's always been mean to the Robot. The rest of us feel that the Robot is part of the family. He's not just a machine anymore.

Don and I have been getting along much better. We've promised to spend more time with each other and I almost feel like we're back to where we were when we were dating. We haven't spoken about the future, though, but we will in time. And, no, we haven't gotten physically closer, at least not yet. That will not be an easy thing to do on this tiny space ship."

There was a knock on her door and Don stood there, with a charming smile. "Want to get away for a little while?" he asked her.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?"

"How about music… me… and a mid-evening snack under the stars?"

"What about the Saticons?"

"I already talked to your Dad about it and we agree that, since they're after the Robot, not us, we should be safe. Besides, I told him that, since the Hades incident, we needed more time alone. He was very supportive, but we have to be back by midnight."

* * *

They drove towards the blue mountains that were several miles away from the Jupiter. With the full moon, the mountains cast long shadows that, to Judy, were more ominous than welcoming. After traveling for awhile, Judy asked, "Don, just where are we going?"

"There's a spot just near the first ridge that has great acoustics," he replied.

"Acoustics? What? Are we auditioning for some sort of intergalactic play?"

He laughed, "Oh, no… not with my voice. You, on the other hand…"

"I don't have to go to the mountains to sing, Don."

"Well, you don't do any singing around here, so I thought that you might need a little incentive."

"Nobody wants to hear me sing…"

"I do… in fact… I'm going to be your recording engineer. I borrowed your tape machine and I figured out how to do a two track recording. I asked Penny for a selection from some of your CD's, re-recorded the songs on one of the two tracks, lowered the vocals, and it's ready for you… instant karaoke. Ah, we're here." After unloading the equipment, Don encouraged Judy. "Go ahead, try it out."

She was uncomfortable at first. "All right." She sang a scale and heard it reverberate among the rocks.

"Well? What do you think?"

"Uh, I don't know. I wasn't listening."

"Judy… I'm being serious here… Ok, you listen and I'll sing…" He sang the first few lines of Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." and Judy was impressed.

"Wow! Even you sound good."

"See? Now, how about starting with "Colors of the Wind" from Pocahontas?"

After several more numbers, Judy's voice was in heavenly condition. "Can we try one more?" she asked. "This time I want you to sing with me."

She started singing Sting's "If Ever I Lose My Faith in You," and Don joined in the chorus. Judy stopped singing at the beginning of the second verse, letting Don take over, "Some would say I was a lost man in a lost world…" She joined in again with, "If I ever lose my faith in you. There'd be nothing left for me to do…"

When they were finished, Judy threw her arms around Don. "You aren't a bad singer, you know that?" she told him.

"Nah, you just made me sound good."

"Wasn't it you who said, 'We make a great team?'"

He held her close. "You know, I think it was." They kissed and he murmured, "Let's get more comfortable."

After laying out the blanket and snacks, they lay down and settled on their elbows, facing each other. "So, what are you going to do with the tape we just made?"

"I'm going to dub it onto a CD and then I'll always have you within ear's length. Who knows, maybe my next job will be as your manager."

"And what's the title of this CD?"

"How about 'Love of My Life?'"

She laughed, "If you're hoping to sell it at our next planetary stop, I think we should call it, 'Love Songs from an Alien World.'"

"We can call it whatever you want, as long as you're still singing it to me…"

Don unwrapped their snack and took out a brownie, holding it out to her. Instead of taking it from him, she leaned closer and bit the edge seductively. It didn't matter that they were only eating brownies and drinking iced tea. Feeding each other had its aphrodisiac effects. Before long, the food was tossed aside and they were in each others' arms. This was the first time they had had the luxury of being truly alone for more than a few minutes since they'd been in space and they took full advantage of it… well, partial advantage… Their hands roamed over and under and around the curves and creases of their clothes. As was their usual routine, Don pulled back first to cool down their ardor. He let out a long breath. "If I had a passion meter on my forehead, the needle would be waving wildly in the red zone."

"I wish you'd get wild more often."

"Ha, that's what you say now, but…" Judy placed her hand in a very sensitive spot and he moaned and he removed her hand.

"Let me, please?" she asked him.

"No."

"Don, it's time we became physically closer."

"I know… You're right, but… I think I'm the one who's not sure this time."

"We love each other, so what are you not sure about?"

"How far to go…"

"How about anything short of blowing the toy trumpet?"

Don didn't need time to consider that suggestion. "Oh, no… I can't promise to control myself if we go _that_ far."

"Ok, so the clothes stay on, but we let our hands roam wherever they want to go."

He took her hand and kissed it. "Feel away, love…"

Some time later, they lay together on the blanket, still clothed, but satisfied. Even back in Galveston, they hadn't been this physically close. Don thought about pulling the edges of the blanket over them, but it was so warm and he felt… happily drained. He kissed her forehead and before long, both were asleep.

* * *

The family gathered for breakfast the next day and John noticed that both Judy and Don glowed with the undeniable look of satisfaction. He caught Maureen's eye and raised his eyebrows as if posing a question and Maureen shrugged her shoulders. Before he could ask them about their date, Will ran out of the Jupiter and announced that the Robot was nowhere to be found. "What do you think happened to him?" Penny asked.

"**I believe the Saticons took him,"** John stated.

"You mean they came into the space ship during the night?" Will asked.

Don looked at Judy. If they had returned by midnight, as he had planned, he would have caught them. As it was, they had returned in the early hours of the morning. Neither had noticed that the Robot was missing because they snuck back into their rooms as quickly and quietly as they could.

"How did they do that without waking anyone?" Maureen asked.

"I don't know, Maureen, but Don and I are going to get him back."

"I'll go get our laser guns," Don said, as he and the children left the table. Judy went with him and they both sighed in relief.

"Thank goodness my parents didn't ask us any questions, Don. Do you think we got away with getting in so late?"

"I don't know, but whatever the fallout is… it was worth it," Don replied with a wink.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Our Robot was taken by the Saticons, and Dad and Don went to get him back, but all they could bring back was his head. Penny and Will are so upset. They feel as if their best friend has died. I miss him too and it's so sad to just see his head sitting on the table. Don played a nasty trick on Dr. Smith, but I had to admit that it was funny. He took the head and put it on a rock. We hid behind it and Don talked as if he was the 'spirit of the Robot.' Dr. Smith bought it for a few minutes, but he figured it out. I told him it was a mean thing to do, but I still laughed.

Don and I are finally making some progress, but we've got a long way to go before we blow the toy trumpet. Oh, Joan, I wanted to do more so badly, but we both knew it wasn't the right time yet. Don't ask me why because I'm not sure I could answer that except to say that neither one of us would have been able to face my parents the next day. It would have been written all over our faces. As it was, I saw Mom and Dad exchange a 'look' and I knew they were wondering what had gone on between us, but it really isn't any of their business, now is it?"

* * *

The rest of the Robot had been returned in hundreds of pieces. Don and John worked through the night to get it back together. Maureen called them in for breakfast. They needed the break.

"Do you think he'll be the same as before?" Judy asked.

"Are you questioning our mechanical ability?" Don teased.

"No, I'm questioning your ability to follow directions."

"For your information, young lady, I read the manual forwards and backwards before we started," John stated.

"Oh, I'm sure _you_ did Dad, but how many pages did Don read?"

"Hey, I'm a natural!" Don retorted. "That's why we gave the job of finishing up to Will."

"I wish Will would have eaten before working on the Robot," Maureen stated.

"I'll get him to come in, Mom. I'm going to the garden," Judy volunteered.

"I'll come with you. I'm going to work on the Chariot." Don stated.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

The _Jupiter's_ machinery seems be turning against us. The drill tried to pierce Dad's neck, the food storage units stopped working, the exercise bike almost gave Dr. Smith a heart attack, the hose compression unit tried to strangle me, the electronic stove and automatic laundry stopped working, Penny received an electrical shock every time she switched on her light and the Chariot ran on its own even after Don disconnected it's battery. Mom said that it seemed like their machinery was being controlled by someone outside the camp, and Dad agreed. It must be the Saticons. I'm afraid that the next thing that will happen is that we're going to lose all of our electrical power, so I thought I'd get my thoughts in to you before that happened.

The Robot is back together, thanks to Dad and Don working on it all night. He is even more human-like than he was before. It's fascinating how he has seemed to gradually acquire human emotion without its being programmed into him.

The Robot reported that the Saticons took him apart to see how Earth machines work. The Robot also said that they plan to rule the Earth by building a device that will control all electronic and mechanical equipment on Earth. We've got to find a way to stop them, Joan."

* * *

The family finished a cold dinner, as all of their equipment had stopped working. The sun had set and the Jupiter was now lit with candles. The children finished washing the dishes by hand, a first time experience, and tried to find something to occupy their time that didn't require electricity. Judy and Maureen kept the children occupied with the Galaxy game while Don and John tried everything they could think of to restore power, but nothing worked.

"You know, this is kind of fun," Penny acknowledged. "It's like we're really a frontier family."

"Just like Laura Ingalls," Judy commented and Penny agreed.

"Who's Laura Ingalls?" Will asked.

"Remember the book, Little House on the Prairie?" Penny asked.

"No."

Maureen chuckled as she said, "Judy, I remember rocking you in my arms when I watched the TV show years ago."

John and Don wandered in and Maureen asked them, "Any luck?"

"Nope…" Don replied.

"Oh, my. Well, I think you should start getting ready for bed, children. It'll take a bit longer tonight since we haven't any power."

"Oh, all right," Will grumbled. "You can go first, Penny, I'll clean the game up."

He put the game away and then Maureen sent him to bring Dr. Smith the last cup of coffee, after warming it over a candle. Then she and John retired to their room. Don and Judy were finally alone.

Don put his arms around her and held her close. "Are you really ok after that hose…" he started to ask.

"Yes, I'm fine. Thank goodness Dad was nearby. I don't know what I would have done if he hadn't come out of the Jupiter."

He kissed her forehead, rubbed her back and then smiled. "Romantic, isn't it?" he asked.

"Not as romantic as a few nights ago," Judy murmured.

He pulled at the ribbon in her hair and unleashed her ponytail. As he caressed the nape of her neck, their lips met and melded together. Judy's hand migrated to his hip and he whispered, "Do you know I love your hair down?" he asked.

"You never told me that. I'll remember that from now on… Do you think we'll get a chance to get away again?" she asked him.

"Sure… once we get this power problem solved…"

* * *

Judy left to get ready for bed and Don joined John on the upper deck. He was staring out the viewport window, worrying about their latest predicament. As they reviewed the situation, John stated, **"It's gotta be destroyed, Don."**

"**Yeah, and right away,"** Don replied. As John retrieved their weapons, Don asked, **"John are you gonna tell Maureen that we're going?"**

"**No, I don't think so. Look, we'll either get back before we're missed or…"**

"**We won't get back at all."**

They had no idea that Maureen had heard their conversation, and Maureen played along with them when she spoke to John. They left thinking that they had protected Maureen from knowing what danger they could be placing themselves into.

Judy came off the elevator immediately after the men left and saw that her mother was troubled. "Mom? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing, Judy."

"Mother, I can see that you're upset. What happened?"

"Oh, it's your father. He and Don have gone off to try to destroy the machine that the Saticons made."

"What? Mother, they have no idea what they're getting into!"

"Oh, I'm sure they do know, Judy. I'm sure they do."

* * *

When Don and John returned to camp, along with Will and the Robot, two women awaited them, arms crossed in front of them. The men knew they had been caught. "Maureen, I, uh, I guess you know where we've been."

She nodded, but she wasn't about to make a scene in front of Will. **"What happened?"**

Don eyed Judy and knew he was in trouble. He explained, **"The Robot destroyed the machine."**

"**They said that it couldn't be destroyed by man or machine,"** Will explained.

"**However, I am neither man nor machine,"** the Robot explained.

"**So you were able to destroy the machine?"** Penny asked.

"**Affirmative,"** the Robot replied.

"**What happened to the Saticons?"**

"**They must have been disintegrated when their machines were ruined because all that was left were their hats and their cloaks,"** Will stated.

Maureen put her arm around Will. "Now you, young man, went against orders… again."

"But Mom, if the Robot and I hadn't gone, we'd still be in trouble!"

"He's right, darling," John stated.

"So I won't get punished?" Will asked.

Maureen and John exchanged looks and John knew that all was forgiven. "Not this time."

The family entered the Jupiter, but Don and Judy remained behind. "So, your mom's forgiven us… how about you?"

Judy was not going to let him off as easily as her mother had. "Don, I can't believe you went off without telling me. What happened to being honest instead of protecting each other?"

Don couldn't look her in the eye as he said, "I wanted to talk with you, Judy, but once your father decided not to tell your mother, I had to follow his lead."

"Did you now? When we were on Earth you had no trouble standing up to him."

He looked up. "Look, I didn't agree with not telling your mother and you, but things happened so quickly, I didn't get a chance to argue the point. The job had to be done."

"Suppose neither one of you had come back?"

"Judy, I don't want to argue about this. We came back and the danger's over. Can't we just leave it at that?"

"All right. We won't argue… but, just so you know, I'm still angry with you." She reentered the ship, leaving him standing alone in the darkness.

The electrical system was powered and running once again, but the temperature shot up the next day. They were in the hot season once again and the air conditioning unit of the Jupiter couldn't handle the strain. The family did what they could to keep cool and conserve their water. They'd been through this before and knew the routine.

* * *

**Dream Monster** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

Tensions were high at breakfast. Everyone was hot and irritable, except Dr. Smith. He ate quickly and left the table. Don wondered just what he was up to, but he was more concerned about Judy's silence. She had barely spoken to him since the previous night. He knew that she had yet to forgive him for going off to destroy the Saticon's machine without telling him.

Despite the tension, John ventured to speak on a topic he had set aside until the crisis with the Saticon's was over. Will excused himself from the table and went in search of Dr. Smith. Penny decided to take Debbie out for a walk.

"**Bring water with you, Penny. You'll need it in this heat,"** Maureen called after her.

"**I will,"** she replied.

Maureen offered John and Don a second cup of coffee and they accepted.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you two about your date the other night. How did it go?" John asked.

"Oh, it was wonderful. Don recorded me singing enough music for an entire CD. All he has to do is transfer it from tape to disk," Judy replied.

"You must have been exhausted from all that singing," John replied.

Don could hear the Robot's voice in his head… _'Danger! Danger! Irate father alert!'_

"What about you, Don? Was recording tiring?"

"Ok, where are you going with this, John?" Don asked.

"I figured it had to be… exhausting… for you not to have heard the Saticons in the ship."

"Well, you didn't hear them either, so I guess we were both out of it."

"I had a good reason to be, as you said, 'out of it.'"

"What was that?" Don asked.

John stared at him.

"John?"

John continued to just stare.

Don's face reddened. He looked at Judy, who was horrified and looked at her mother. She could see that her mother was as upset as she was. "John, I think that's more than Don and Judy need to know."

"But we're married, Maureen. Married couples make love…"

Don interrupted him, "Look, John, if you're asking how far Judy and I went that night…"

"I know you both weren't on the ship when they broke in," John stated. "You were supposed to have her back by midnight."

"I know, I'm sorry, but, believe it or not, we fell asleep," Don replied.

"That's true, Dad," Judy added.

"Fell asleep…" John placed his cup on the table and folded his hands as he addressed Don. "Look, Don… I consider you my best friend, however, you are also my daughter's suitor and I have to keep her best interests in mind."

Don could feel the heat creep up his neck and it was more than the hot sun causing his discomfort. "Are you saying that you think I would take advantage of her?" he asked. Judy placed a hand over his to calm him down. She could see that he was ready to explode.

"No, of course not..." John replied.

Don interrupted him. "Then what _are_ you saying?"

Maureen shot John a warning look, but he continued. "Look, Don… believe me… I know what it's like to be carried away by passion. I was a victim myself."

Don looked from John to Maureen and couldn't believe what he had just heard. He felt badly that Maureen was there to hear this, but he continued. "Victim? You make it sound like you had no control over what happened."

"That's just it. We didn't." John said.

"Don't give me that crap, John! You _chose_ not to exert control. I've been controlling myself for almost five years now. If you think I'm gonna lose it now… you don't know me very well."

"We know all too well that no one's perfect!"

Maureen decided to intervene before tempers could get any higher. "Don, you know that this is a dangerous place for Judy to become pregnant."

"I'm not perfect, but I would never put Judy in that kind of situation."

"Mother, please! There is no chance that I could be pregnant. And you know what else? Our sex life is really none of your business!"

John was not happy with his daughter's attitude. "As long as I am in command of this mission, the health of my crew is my business."

Judy stood and asked, "Since when is pregnancy an illness?"

Don placed a hand on her forearm. This was of those times when he had to stand up to John. He stared at John, obviously disappointed in his handling of the matter. "I agree with Judy that this is none of your business, but since you are interested, I'll tell you… We kept our clothes on… Now, if there's nothing else?"

John accepted Don's stare and then waved them away. Maureen dropped in the seat beside John and lamented. "I think we owe them an apology, John."

"I guess you're right. What do we do, Maureen? You know how hard it was when we were young and in love."

"We can't do anything, John. Their situation is so different from ours. They know how hard life is right now. Maybe that's enough to discourage them from…"

He nodded. "All right. I'll talk to Don and you talk to Judy."

* * *

Maureen found Judy in her room, taking out her tape player. "Judy? May I speak with you?"

Judy sighed in exasperation. "All right, come in."

"Judy you know your father and I love both you and Don and want to see you happy."

"Mom, you don't have to explain. I'm confused myself about what to do…"

"What does Don say?"

"That he's waiting for me to decide."

"It's not very fair of him to put this decision on your shoulders."

"I know… but, I am the one who's holding back."

"What's stopping you?"

"I wish I knew… "

* * *

John found Don looking at the air conditioning unit. He approached him and said, "Let me give you a hand with that."

Don was silent, but accepted his help. They took the unit out of the console and placed it on the floor. John tried to apologize. "I'm sorry I have to stick my nose into your private life, Don. If we were on Earth…"

"If we were on Earth, we would have been married by now, but we aren't… so we're not."

"You can change that, you know."

"You'll have to talk to Judy about that. You know I'm ready whenever she is," Don replied.

"I will. Let's get this on the table." Both men took a hold of the unit and John gave the word, "All right."

They place it on the table and Don commented, **"Boy, what a time for the air unit to go out."**

"**Yeah, someone sure overloaded it," **John replied.

"**You know, you said that as though you think I did it."**

"**That wasn't my meaning. You're being a little hypersensitive, Don."**

"**Hypersensitive? Oh, now, look…"**

Maureen stepped off the elevator and asked if either one of them had seen Penny. John offered to look for her, but Maureen told them to go on with their work. Don glanced at John and they continued to work in silence.

* * *

The air unit was fixed and air started to blow out of the vents. They placed the unit back into its compartment. Judy, Dr. Smith, Will and Penny gathered under a vent. Dr. Smith complained that he wanted more air and he turned the knob until the unit once again… died. John and Don jumped down the ladder and approached them.

"**Who's been fooling with that air conditioning unit?"** John asked.

Judy answered, **"Oh, Dr. Smith tried to…"**

Don was incensed. It had been a rough morning and his patience had hit its limit. Dr. Smith was simply the one who had sent him over the edge. **"John, I've had him up to here."** He waved his hand across his neck. **"I can't take any more. Now, either he goes or I do!"**

Maureen berated him for feeling the way he did, and Dr. Smith graciously volunteered to be the one to leave. No one replied.

"**Isn't anyone going to stop me?"** Smith asked.

"**Well, you did volunteer to leave, didn't you?"** John said.

"**Yes, I did. But a few more protestations on your part would not have been amiss."**

"**Well, in a few days when we're all feeling a little less irritable, maybe things will change."**

"**Not for me, they won't,"** Don stated.

"**Bah! Major. Oh, the pain, the pain,"** Smith replied. **"Adieu."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Don and I are fighting again. It seems that as soon as our relationship takes one step forward, something happens to set us two steps back. It's about the same old thing. Me, him, our parents' interference… and then he takes it out on poor Dr. Smith…

Don gave Dad an ultimatum. If Dr. Smith didn't leave camp, he would. How could he do that to him, Joan? I have half a mind to tell Don that he should be the one to leave. It's unbearably hot out there. Dr. Smith could die from heat stroke…"

Don knocked on her door before going back to the upper deck with John to repeat the job they had just completed on the air conditioning unit. "Judy, it's me. Can I talk with you?" Don asked.

"That depends… Have you calmed down?"

"Look, I'm sorry. All right? I know I've been in a rotten mood today, but…"

The intercom crackled to life. "Don? Are you coming up?" John's voice asked.

Don shook his head and turned to go back to the ladder.

Judy picked up her microphone again and continued to dictation to her cousin. "Don just stopped by to apologize. I'll accept his apology… in good time.

Oh, I meant to tell you that Penny has started up with her wild stories again. She claims to have run into a scientist named Sesmar who's built a man-like creature he named 'Raddion.' Mom thinks that her imagination ran wild because of the heat. She'll be all right once we get the air conditioning going… _again_."

* * *

Dr. Smith had returned to the ship after encountering Sesmar. He had manipulated his way out of being a subject for Sesmar's experiment by offering the Robinsons in his place. Sesmar agreed, but only if Smith would cooperate with him. He gave Smith the task of capturing the image of each crew member on a transpiration film so that he could place their human qualities into Raddion.

Smith succeeded and Sesmar placed the small plastic disks of each family member's transpiration plate into Sesmar. Don's was the only plate he tossed aside. The plates, however, did not have the desired effect. Sesmar theorized that human contact was needed to make the transpiration happen.

Sesmar first ran into Penny, who was glad to introduce him to the family so that they would know that she hadn't imagined him. Penny introduced him to John and Don who were still working on the unit, and then the rest of the family joined them. He took a look at the unit and diagnosed the problem. He waved a small machine, which he called a molecular replicator, over the broken part and it was magically fixed. He then gave them a transponder-interrogator that could be used in their communication system and then handed them a digitizer that would increase the efficiency of the Robot. His last gift to them was an impact predictor that would detect meteor storms.

Don was suspicious of him from the moment he walked onto the ship. **"Just why are you giving us all these things?"** he asked. Sesmar honestly replied that they were in payment for the transpirator images Dr. Smith had made of them. Don complained that the pictures were taken without their consent.

"**Only because transpiration is more effective when the subject is unaware of its purpose,"** Sesmar explained.

"**What purpose is that?"** John asked.

"**The transpiration of all your fine human qualities into Raddion,"** Sesmar stated and added that Raddion would like to thank them all in person. Everyone's curiosity was aroused, except for Don's. He still didn't trust Sesmar and insisted that they travel in the Chariot so that they would have its firepower at their disposal.

Once inside Sesmar's laboratory, Sesmar had Raddion shake each of the Robinson's hand and thank them for their human qualities. Raddion shook Will's hand first. Don wanted to shout at them not to touch Sesmar, but he kept quiet as Sesmar shook Will's, Judy's and then Penny's hand. When it was Maureen's turn, he tried to get her to wait, but John said that it was just a formality, and so Maureen continued. Don was angry with the whole family. He told John to meet him at the drill site and then left.

* * *

After spending hours drilling alone, Don returned to camp to find the Robot taking meteorological data, Penny and Will cutting out paper figures, and John daydreaming with his feet up and all instrumentation in the 'off' position. Don was ticked… He admonished John for no longer being the leader he once was and then left to search out Judy.

He found Judy and Maureen lounging in the lower deck couches making idle conversation. "I guess you both are on strike too?"

"What do you mean?" Maureen asked.

"No lunch?" Don asked.

"You know where the food is… make it yourself," Judy replied.

Don grabbed Judy's hand and pulled her out of the couch. "Come with me, I want to talk with you."

She followed him to the galley and he turned and asked, "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing is wrong with me."

"Look, Judy, I don't mind making my own meals or even doing my own laundry, but I can't stand what you and your family have become."

"What have we become? We're perfectly happy,"

"Are you? You seem like a bunch of empty shells."

"That's not true."

"Oh, yeah? Then let me see you react to this." He pulled her to him and kissed her hard on the mouth and she barely responded. "Well?"

She shrugged, "So you kissed me…"

He let her go. "And you couldn't care less, could you?"

She shrugged again. "It doesn't matter."

He reminded himself that this wasn't 'his' Judy and stomped out of the ship. Walking away, he kicked at the sand in anger. He had no idea what he was going to do, but he had to do something to get the Robinsons back. Before he could react, Sesmar's two assistants shot a beam at him that rendered him helpless, and then led him to the laboratory.

He should have known… there was Smith with Sesmar. He started arguing with Smith and Sesmar took their transpirations, and then forced each of them to shake Raddion's hand. Sesmar realized that, in addition to the 'good' human qualities, Raddion would need the 'negative' qualities as well if he was to survive in the real universe.

Sesmar chained Don and Smith together until he could think of a use for them. Don, however, realized that the transpiration had not 'finalized' so to speak. He was just as angry as ever and Smith hadn't changed at all. Working together they were able to escape back to the Jupiter and were followed by Raddion. The Robot disabled the android and Don took the disks out of Raddion's transpiration machine and stomped on them. One by one the Robinsons came back to themselves.

Maureen walked up to her husband and commented, **"I feel like I've been on a vacation from the living and have only just returned."**

"**So do I,"** John replied.

"**I feel the same way,"** Will replied.

"**Me too,"** Penny stated.

"**Don,"** Judy said, **"I** **feel as if I've hurt you in some way. Is that true?"**

Don smiled and shook his head. Sesmar came to retrieve his android and said he'd have to go back to the drawing board. John called a family meeting to discuss how feelings could not be bought, sold or traded away. The meeting was held after dinner, which was hungrily gulped down as lunch had never been served. "This meeting is called to order," John stated. "It seems that all of us have been acting out of sorts lately."

"I know," Don replied, "including me. I apologize to all of you, even you, Dr. Smith, for my irritable behavior. And, uh, Smith?"

"Yes, Major," Smith replied.

"Thanks for the help in getting us out of there."

"There are times when one must put aside one's differences, and today was one of those times…"

Judy's eyes opened wide. "You and Dr. Smith worked together?"

"Well it's not like we had much of a choice," Don replied. "We were chained together, but it did take some teamwork."

"What were we like, Don?" Judy asked.

"You were all like… I don't know," Don replied, "… people without feelings like you didn't care about anything…" He looked down at his cup, "or anybody."

Judy could feel her face heat up when she caught his eye. She _had_ hurt him. She stood and asked, "Mom, Dad, would you mind if Don and I went for a stroll?"

"Go right ahead," Maureen answered.

And John added, "I get the feeling that you two have a lot to talk about."

As they strolled to their rock, Judy asked, "What did I do, Don?"

He sat down and she nestled in front of him as always. "It wasn't what you did. It was what you didn't do. I kissed you long and hard and it was as if I was kissing a… a mannequin."

"I'm sorry, Don. How can I make it up to you?"

He grinned. "Kiss me?"

She turned and knelt in front of him and took his face in both her hands, bringing his lips towards hers. They kissed… a long, sweet kiss. And she asked, "How's that?"

"It's a start." Then he leaned forward and kissed her again. "You know your Dad and Will and I are going on an expedition tomorrow. I'll need at least one more to tide me over until we get back."

She kissed him again. "Not only that, but how about a little… touching… to keep me in your thoughts while you're away."

"Hm… where would you like me to touch you?"

"Oh, I was thinking more along the lines of _me_ touching _you_…" She gently rubbed his rear and started to move around to hips. He took her wrist, brought her hand to his lips and kissed her palm. "I won't need any more than that to keep you with me, Judy. If I let you keep going, I'll be leaving a little bit of myself with you."

"And what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, as far as I'm concerned, but, uh, your parents' radar alarms are bound to go off."

As predicted, John had sent the Robot to find them. He wanted Don to help him pack up the Chariot so they could get an early start in the morning. Judy grumbled her displeasure, and Don added, "I told you so…" He gave her a final hungry kiss and grinned. "I'll be looking forward to our reunion when we get back."

* * *

**The Golden Man** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

The Chariot had pulled up and the women ran out to greet the returning expedition. Will hopped out and immediately started regaling Penny with descriptions of what they had seen in their travels. **"Anything exciting happen around here?"** he asked.

"**Oh, nothing much,"** Penny replied. **"We just had a war."**

"**A war?" **John exclaimed as Don and Will looked at Penny in surprise.

"**Oh, it was nothing important, dear. It was just a small war,"** Maureen explained.

"**Hardly anything,"** Judy added.

Before anyone else could comment Dr. Smith marched into camp training the Robot, their first line of defense should they be attacked again.

"Well, thank goodness you all survived," John stated.

"The worst thing was getting caught in the minefield," Judy said. Don's head snapped up at that comment. "But Mr. Keema carried me out."

Don jumped out of the Chariot. "Who is Mr. Keema?"

"He was the handsome golden man," Judy said.

"He wasn't handsome at all, Judy. He just made himself look that way to fool us," Penny replied.

"That's true," Judy added. "He's the one who planted the mine field, so of course he knew how to get me out."

"Now wait a minute," Don said. "A handsome golden man planted a mine field and carried you out of it, but he wasn't handsome at all?"

"No, he was an ugly alien. Not that looks matter much," Penny said.

"We were all taken in by him, except Penny. She kept a good head on her shoulders. I almost gave him all of our weapons!" Maureen stated.

"You did what?" John exclaimed.

"Well, I changed my mind, but then Dr. Smith brought them to him," Maureen said.

"Smith!" Don took a step towards him.

"Oh, but Dr. Smith saved us all, Don," Penny said. "As my little frog alien said, most people are taken in by surface looks and flattery."

"Frog alien?" Will asked.

"He was the one Mr. Keema was having a war with. He seemed mean and nasty at first, but he was really quite nice," Penny explained.

"And how did Smith save you all?" Don asked.

"Well, I ran off to warn my little alien friend about Mr. Keema having our weapons, and I brought Dr. Smith along with me," Penny stated.

"Now, now, my dear, don't embellish. You know that I am the one who insisted on warning the little frog. And after the bomb was thrown towards our alien friend, I threw caution aside, picked it up and threw it right back at Mr. Keema, and he was disintegrated."

"I don't believe it," Don stated. He looked at Penny. "Is that true?"

"Well, almost," Penny stated. "The important thing is that Mr. Keema is gone and our alien friend was able to safely return home."

"John, I have a request," Don said. "The next time you want to go on an expedition, take Smith with you. I'm staying put with the women."

* * *

Judy wanted to take Don star gazing to help celebrate their reunion, but when they reached the telescope, Dr. Smith and Will were already there. Rather than engage either one of them in conversation, Don and Judy did an 'about face' and started walking back to their 'usual' spot. "I was hoping to do something a little different with you tonight, Don. I guess I should have arranged telescope time with Will before venturing out here," Judy said.

"The only star I want to gaze at tonight is right here beside me," Don replied.

Judy curtsied and replied in a Southern accent, "Oh, my, I am charmed, sir. Whatever can I do to repay such kindness?"

"Greet your number one fan with a kiss befitting my long absence."

"I would be much obliged to do so, sir."

They stopped where they were on the path to her favorite spot. She threw her arms around his neck and stood on her toes to reach his lips. She took him by surprise, but he recovered quickly. His hands went around her waist and he drew her into his body, his arms sliding around her back to hold her close. When they pulled apart, he whistled between his teeth and then said, "So, you really missed me?"

She nodded "Even though we women were perfectly capable of taking care of ourselves."

"Except for getting out of minefields…"

"Well, yes, _that_, and being sure we don't succumb to the charms of other handsome men…"

"Just how 'charmed' were you with this Keema guy?"

"Oh, he had quite a way with words. He called us beautiful and gave us perfume…"

"All right, all right. And what do I have to do to help you forget about this man and his charms?"

"Take me to our favorite spot," she kissed his lips. "And let's just… _explore_ each other."

"Ground rules?"

"Hm… anything… short of… blowing the toy trumpet"

He stared at her. "Wow, that's quite a change from the last time we were alone"

"I want to feel every inch of you, Major West, and not your clothes…"

"Hm…" He kissed her again. "So what are we waiting for?" They separated and he took her hand, but when they arrived at their private 'spot,' it was already occupied… by John and Maureen! Not wanting to disturb them, they quietly backed away and hoped that they weren't noticed. Once they were out of ear-shot, Judy started laughing and Don joined in.

"Oh, Don… I don't believe my parents… were _necking_ at our spot!"

"Frisky, aren't they?" Don added.

Before they had fully recovered from their laughter, John and Maureen were making their way down the path. The two couples met and Don and Judy tried to recover their composure. "Don. Judy. Where are you off to?" John asked.

Don and Judy glanced at each other and tried not to start giggling again. "Well, uh, we were just going off for a walk."

"There's a beautiful spot behind a boulder about ten yards down this path," Maureen stated.

"Really?" Don feigned ignorance.

"Don…" Judy said to silence him. "We know, mom… it's kind of become _our_ place."

Maureen was awfully embarrassed, "Oh, I'm sorry. I had no idea… Well, go on, don't let us bother you."

But the two couples were forced to return to the _Jupiter_ when a violent solar wind kicked up…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	8. Girl from Green & Questing & Toymaker

_Last week, as you recall, the Saticons built a machine that would help them conquer Earth. The Robot, not quite man, yet not quite machine, was able to destroy it. Penny then befriended a scientist who needed the Robinson's human qualities to make his creation, Raddion, become more than a simple android. The Robinson family unknowingly donated their good traits, which made them shells of their former selves, but Don and Dr. Smith, working together, were able to restore them to their true selves. John, Don and Will left soon after. Dr. Smith and the women became embroiled in a war between two aliens, one ugly on the surface, but good in character, and the other, a golden man who ingratiated himself with the adults, but Penny saw that good looks did not make a good man. Mr. Keema, the frog-like alien was victorious with the help of Penny and Dr. Smith. While Will and Dr. Smith were stargazing through the telescope, a brief solar storm erupted. When it ended, Will looked through the telescope and he asked Dr. Smith to have a look… _

**The Girl from the Green Dimension** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

When Dr. Smith put his eye against the telescope, he exclaimed, **"No. No, it can't be. It's not possible!" **In his sights was the green woman who had enchanted him when they refueled the _Jupiter_ and lost their chance to return to Earth.

Dr. Smith insisted that she was just an optical illusion, but the optical illusion became a green mist that spouted from the telescope and she materialized directly in front of him… He, the Robot and Will ran the entire way back to camp. Will explained what they had seen, but John didn't believe him until she appeared from behind a rock.

"**She's for real, all right,"** Don stated. **"She must be after more of our deutronium."**

The family convinced Dr. Smith to send the woman away, and he finally agreed and told her to **"Scat… Shoo… Shoo…"** She floated away… for now.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

You won't believe this… (If I had a nickel for every time I've said that…) but the green woman who hypnotized Dr. Smith to leave the Jupiter when we were heading back to Earth has reappeared. Somehow (none of us can figure out exactly how), but somehow she found her way back to Dr. Smith. Don and Dad think that she's after our deutronium, but Dr. Smith insists that she's after him.

Dad, Don and Will went to check the drill sight to be sure that she hasn't invaded our deutronium stock. A strange thing happened while Mom and I were working in the garden this morning. Dr. Smith predicted that I would need a first aide kit because I would prick my left index finger, and that is exactly what happened. I just put a band aide on it, and it's really nothing, but I wonder how he knew?"

* * *

Don, Judy and Penny were having breakfast when they got their first look at Will, the green boy… Maureen had done her best to try to scrub the green off him, but it was as if a contemporary artist had used him as a canvas. When John joined them at the table, Penny asked, **"Was Mom able to get the green off him, Dad?"**

"**No, I'm afraid not, Penny. We're going to have to find some other solvent,"** John replied.

"**How did he get green in the first place?"** Don asked.

"Smith and Will don't really know. Apparently the green girl has a scorned suitor who did something to Will. I wish we knew what it was so we could reverse it!"

Don shook his head.

"Now, Don…" Judy started.

"Judy, Smith is…"

Before he could finish, Maureen and Will walked off the elevator. Judy's hand flew to her mouth when she saw him, and Penny thought, _'He's just… so… so… green!'_ No one knew what to say, and Will's eyes started to tear up.

Don knew he'd get in trouble for what he was about to say, but someone had to break the ice. "Hey, Kermit, come sit next to me. I know you're not contagious."

Judy shot him a warning look and whispered, "Don…"

Will almost smiled and sat down next to him. At least they weren't laughing at him, but it would be just as bad if they were going to be _too_ nice to him.

"It's all right, Will, just don't pay any attention to him," Judy said.

Don sent her a smirk across the table. He couldn't understand what it was with this family that they always had to play nice. The kid was _green_ for heaven's sake… It wasn't as if they could just ignore that fact.

Maureen went to the galley to pop-in more toast and prepare a plate for Will. Penny had no idea what to say and Will couldn't bring himself to look at her, so she excused herself from the table.

Don tried one more time to coax a reaction out of Will. He put his hand on Will's shoulder and said, "Oh, by the way, we're having green eggs and ham for breakfast."

Will grinned at his comment and added, "I'll take some green tea with that."

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Poor Will. Athena, the green girl, has a jilted suitor named Urso who turned Will green! Don was trying to make jokes about it, but it really isn't funny, well, not really. Mom and Dad asked Athena, the green girl, to turn him back, but she couldn't. Penny told me she asked Will if he wanted some deutronium. She felt so badly for Will she even asked him if he could turn her green, so she could be just like him.

Don's been wondering why Athena has 'the hots' for Dr. Smith. It turns out that she likes the way his nose wiggles. She calls him, **"Handsome, pretty handsome, Doc-tor Smith."** And what does Dr. Smith want with Athena, you might ask? Well she has quite a body, but she and Urso also have some kind of power that allows the telescope to tell the future. It turns out that she expects 'handsome, pretty handsome, Doc-tor Smith' to fight Urso. I don't know how he's going to get out of that one."

* * *

One of the atomic units of the Jupiter had burned out and had to be disposed of, and, after Don extracted it from its place and threw it into a lead container, the family buried it in a mock funeral ceremony, which Dr. Smith had foreseen through the telescope, however, he thought the burial was his own. While running away from a duel with Urso he encountered the ceremony and accused them of burying the wrong body! Athena saw how cowardly Dr. Smith was and returned to Urso. Then they disappeared and Will magically returned to his normal skin color.

As the family started back to the Jupiter, Don commented, "Gee, Will, I was hoping we'd get at least one rendition of "It's Not Easy Bein' Green" from you on your guitar while you were still as green as Kermit," Don stated.

Instead of chiding him, Judy starting singing softly.

"_It's not that easy bein' green;_

_Having to spend each day the color of the leaves."_

_Then Penny joined in._

"_When I think it could be nicer being red, or yellow or gold—or something much more colorful like that."_

_Will then added his voice._

"_It's not easy bein' green._

_It seems you blend in with so many other ordinary things._

_And people tend to pass you over 'cause you're not standing out like flashy sparkles in the water – or stars in the sky."_

Then Don put his arm around Judy and Maureen followed by placing an arm around each of her youngest as they continued to walk back to the Jupiter and the five of them were now singing:

"_But green's the color of spring. And green can be cool and friendly-like. And green can be big like an ocean, or important like a mountain, or tall like a tree."_

John followed behind them and marveled at their resiliency and closeness. He loved his family dearly and realized that Don, regardless of whatever would happen between him and Judy, had firmly established himself as part of that unit. The group completed the final verse:

"_When green is all there is to be_

_It could make you wonder why, but why wonder why? Wonder,_

_I am green and it'll do fine, it's beautiful!_

_And I think it's what I want to be."_

They arrived at the Jupiter and Maureen turned to see her husband holding a huge grin on his face. She walked up to him and asked, "And what is making you so joyful?"

"I love this family, Maureen. Each and every one of you…" he replied.

She wrapped her arms around him and asked, "Does that includes Don?"

John nodded and Maureen added, "Me too…"

* * *

**The Questing Beast** (Written by **Carey Wilber**)

"Dear Joan,

We have another visitor. I have no idea how he got here. Will said he just came charging in out of nowhere like a knight… Actually, he is a knight, Sir Sagramonte of Antair. He's chasing a questing beast. He's taken Will on as his page. Penny, of course has befriended the beast, Gundemar. I feel like we're living through The Man of La Mancha and any minute we'll hear Don Quixote break out into "To Dream the Impossible Dream…"

* * *

Will wandered into the Jupiter soon after Judy had finished her message to her cousin. **"Will! I thought you were… paging… with Sir Sagramonte,"** Judy asked.

"**Oh, he's nothing but a tired old man, Judy," **Will responded. **"He exaggerated everything he told me. I wonder if any of it was true."** He went into his room and closed the door.

* * *

John and Don returned to camp. Judy came out to greet them and told them that Will was back. John asked her about the alien visitor, and Judy said, **"Oh, I don't think there's anything to worry about. From the way Will talked, I guess he's just a foolish old man."** Don excused himself to get something to eat, and Judy told him that she'd join him after talking with her father. Judy went on to tell him that she was worried about Will. **"There's something withdrawn about him. Dad, is it possible for a boy his age to become a cynic?"**

At that moment, Dr. Smith came running into camp and babbling about having to fend off five, ten, twenty monsters on the way back to camp. He had no idea that Will had already returned and was listening to his tall tale. Dr. Smith was caught in his lie.

* * *

Don had made himself a snack and Judy joined him at the galley table. "So, what's up with Will?" Don asked. "I asked him if he and his knight had caught their beast, and he totally ignored me."

"I don't know, Don. He found out that his knight tells a lot of tall tales, and he just caught Dr. Smith in a flagrant lie."

"Oh… I guess it's kind of like… when he found out there was no Santa." She nodded.

Don continued, "It has to happen sometime, Judy."

"I just wish it hadn't happened so soon. There is more than enough for him to contend with out here without losing his faith in people."

"If by 'people' you mean Smith, it might not be such a bad thing."

* * *

Will was reading a book on the upper deck when Dr. Smith asked if he could join him. He picked up a book from the table and pretended to read. After a few seconds, he told Will, **"I'm sorry about this afternoon."**

"**It's all right. You were just trying to make yourself out a big hero,"** Will replied.

"**You make it all seem very simple."**

Don started to climb up the ladder and overheard their voices. He stopped mid-way and motioned for Judy to join him.

"**Well, isn't it? I mean, don't people do it all the time? Brag and elaborate and then build themselves up?"** Will looked at the book Smith was holding, **"The book's upside-down, Dr. Smith."**

Smith tossed the book on the table, **"Thank you."** Dr. Smith folded his hands and said, **"But there must be some exceptions."**

"**What exceptions?"**

"**Your parents… Major West…"**

"**How do I know for sure that they're so special?"**

"**Will, what has happened to you?"**

"**Well let's just say I'm growing up, Dr. Smith. There comes a time in every kid's life when he has to get rid of illusions – like outgrowing fairy tales about knights fighting dragons."**

"**Dr. Smith, nobody's to blame. Let's just say I'm outgrowing my childhood." **

"**It must be something Sagramonte of Antair did, wasn't it?"**

Dr. Smith stood and walked towards the hatch. **"Nobody's to blame. Nobody's ever to blame." **He hit the button for the door and added, **"Don't be in such a hurry to grow up, dear William. It isn't really worth it."**

Judy pulled Don back down. "We should leave him alone, Don. He wouldn't want us eavesdropping on him."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. You know, I'm surprised at what Smith said."

"You see? He's not as bad as you think he is."

"Well, I'm not so sure I'd go so far as to say that…"

* * *

"Dear Joan,

"Our knight and his beast are gone. Will found out that his knight had exaggerated the stories of his quest and no longer wanted to be his page. It was like he lost his innocence. Dr. Smith, of all people, helped him through it. He arranged for the knight to meet the beast, but Penny intervened, worried that the beast might get hurt. It turns out the knight has been chasing the beast for forty years and neither one of them wanted it to end. I don't know how it happened, but Will has decided that he's not in such a hurry to grow up after all.

Oh, Penny's birthday is coming up. She's going to be thirteen this year. That is such a difficult age, especially for Penny since the only social life she has is with her family. She should be ogling boys and learning to flirt with them. Oh, I don't know, Joan. Maybe, if we had stayed on Earth, she would feel as left out and isolated as I did when I was her age. We are just such a weird family.

Mom made a cake and Will is hoping to think of a special gift for her since she's becoming a teenager. I hope he thinks of something because I have no ideas."

* * *

Judy also had no idea that at that very moment, Will and Dr. Smith had found an abandoned android machine. Will hoped to buy a toy for Penny, but Dr. Smith, thinking selfishly, was swallowed by the machine as he tried to procure a coat for himself…

**The Toymaker **(Written by **Bob and Wanda Duncan**)

Will ran back to camp, begging his mother to find his father and Don so they could save Dr. Smith from the machine. She was reluctant to do so, since a fissure had opened up the night before and they were searching for it. **"But Mom, we found it. It's where the machine is," **Will told her. Maureen then agreed to find them, but first left instructions for Penny to keep an eye on Will.

When she found them, she explained the situation and John said that looking for Smith was the last thing they wanted to do. **"That fissure has gotten bigger since last night. If we don't find it soon and seal it, it may reach the core of this planet and it will blow up."**

"**And us with it,"** Don added.

"**But Will found it,"** Maureen exclaimed.

They rushed back to camp only to discover from Penny that Will had returned to the machine, and, in an attempt to help Dr. Smith, was swallowed by the machine himself.

Don and John went to the machine and investigated both the fissure and the machine. John felt that they had only twenty-four hours to seal the fissure. Don explained that, if they dropped explosives into the fissure now, it would take the machine with it. John suggested moving the machine, but the Robot advised against it, saying that moving the machine would destroy it. They were debating what to do when a space ship landed nearby. None other than Zumdish and his henchman arrived on the scene.

His job was to destroy errant, renegade machines. John negotiated more time so he could recover Will and Smith. Zumdish agreed, and Don stood guard to be sure he abided by his agreement.

John entered the machine and found an old, retired toymaker, Mr. O.M., who was trying his best to fulfill toy orders. John was able to convince him that Will and Smith were not toys and that they all needed to escape before the machine was disintegrated. Mr. O.M. knew the way out and the four of them escaped.

With John's clever manipulating, Zumdish agreed to reinstate Mr. O.M. as an official toy maker for the Galactic Department Store, and they were gone. Before leaving, however, he aided their sealing of the fissure – as payment for the services of the old man.

Once back at camp, Penny opened her gifts – a new dress for her old doll and a doll house from Will that was made by the old toymaker. It broke as soon as she lifted it, but she was most grateful that her family was back together. The Robot brought in a cake and the entire family sang her birthday song.

As Judy cut the cake, Maureen asked, **"What about the danger we're in from the fissure?"**

"**Zumdish gave us a plug that sealed it up,"** John replied.

"**The Deluxe 512,"** Don added.

"**My finder's fee for freeing the old man from that renegade machine…"** John added.

* * *

Hours later, when Judy went into her room, she found Penny sitting on her bed, knees up to her chin with a forlorn expression on her face. "Penny? What's wrong?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just tired."

"Your face says 'sad,' not 'tired,' Penny."

"Oh, Judy, I appreciated the gifts, but, a dress for my doll and a doll house?"

"Will did the best he could, Penny."

"Oh, it's not Will. It's Mom and Dad. They treat me like I'm seven years old!"

"I suppose it's hard on parents when their children grow-up."

"But they don't do that to Will! He can go on adventures with Dad and Don, and he gets to carry a gun. All I get to do is set the table and help Mom."

"If it's any consolation, Penny, they treat me the same way. I feel like I'm back in high school whenever I go out with Don."

Penny wiped a tear that escaped her eye. "Well, that's another thing… you and Don…"

"What have we done wrong?"

"Oh, nothing… It's just that you and he look so happy when you're together. At least you have a boyfriend!"

"Oh, Penny, it's not so wonderful for us either. We should have been…"

"Should have been what?"

"Nothing. Forget I said anything."

"No, tell me."

She sighed. "Remember I told you and Mom that Don and I were planning on eloping the day his car was blown up?"

Penny nodded.

"Well, we still wanted to get married before lift-off, but Dad, Mom and General Bowers talked us out of it. They said the mission had to be our only focus."

"But, Judy, you can change that…"

"It's just… it's just gotten too complicated."

* * *

After Penny had finally fallen asleep, Judy lay in her bed, thinking about the entire situation and her heart went out to Penny. She was determined to do what she could to make things easier for her.

She snuck out of their room and knocked on Don's door frame.

He was up and at the door in seconds. "Judy? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just couldn't sleep."

He let her in the room and slid the door shut. They sat on his bed and his most mischievous smile slid up his cheeks. "So… Did you come to feel me up?" he whispered.

"Don, be serious."

"I am being serious. Do you realize that we haven't been alone since before Will turned green?"

"I came to talk about Penny."

"What about her?"

"She's at that awkward age, you know? …Not a child, but not an adult."

"Yeah, we all go through that."

"But not alone in space with no one but your family around you."

"She was upset with the gifts? …Too babyish?"

"That and… the way Mom and Dad treat her differently than Will."

"Well, yeah, your parents are traditional and follow the double standard."

"That doesn't make it right!"

"I didn't say it did! I think you and Penny should be just as prepared as Will to face whatever we might encounter out here."

"But you're overprotective too."

"Of you, Penny _and_ Will and that's because I'm responsible to keep you all safe. You know… you and Penny can talk to your parents about that."

"She doesn't want to right now, but that's not all that's bothering her."

"What else?"

"We are."

"You mean… you and me?"

Judy nodded. "Yes. It hurts her every time she sees us together because it reminds her that she might never have the chance for love."

"Huh, that's true, but, there's nothing we can do to change that right now."

"I think there is. We can be less… attentive to each other when we're around her."

Don wasn't happy with that suggestion. "Wait a minute. That doesn't make sense. In order to spare Penny's feelings, you want to hurt us?"

"How can that hurt us?"

"Judy, if we're any 'less attentive,' we'll be acting like brother and sister."

"Maybe that's what we should do so Penny doesn't feel so badly."

"Then what happens when Penny finds out that she's the reason we're cooling it."

"She won't… unless you tell her."

"I wouldn't do that to her… But don't be surprised if 'boyfriend Don' checks out from lack of use!"

Dr. Smith thought he had the solution to the drought prone weather which seemed to be standard fare on this planet… a rainmaking device, however, when Dr. Smith set the device off its missile was headed straight for the Jupiter!

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	9. Mutiny & Vikings & Rckt to Erth & Wizard

_Last week, as you recall, Dr. Smith was visited by Athena, the girl from the green dimension who was once again after, not only Dr. Smith, but deutronium as well. Her suitor, however, reclaimed her heart and she left. Will was then enchanted by a knight who was chasing a beast, whom Penny befriended. Will soon became cynical, however, when he realized that the knight had been exaggerating his conquests. All was back to normal, however, when the knight and beast decided to continue their game of quest and run. Dr. Smith then found a department store machine that housed an old toymaker. Professor Robinson was able to negotiate a deal with the department store to re-employ rather than retire the toymaker. Now, in a foolhardy attempt to make rain, Dr. Smith unleashed a missile that was on course to destroy the Jupiter…_

**Mutiny in Space** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

John, Don and the women ran out of the ship and hid behind a rock. The missile missed the _Jupiter_, but hit the weather station that was outside the ship. John was not happy with Smith and asked Will to bring him back to the _Jupiter_ so he could give him a piece of his mind.

Dr. Smith tried his best to make up with Professor Robinson and the rest of the crew, but John had declared Dr. Smith 'off-limits' and no one was to speak with him. Dr. Smith was so overwrought, he begged 'the major' to cast derogatory remarks upon him. Not one unkind remark left Don's lips. Even Judy remained silent. Dr. Smith rambled on about some ship that had landed and would take him into oblivion. He asked to borrow a repair kit and Don handed it to him without a word. Judy almost forgot herself and said, **"Dr. Smith, are you—"** but stopped herself from continuing. Dr. Smith left them all with a mournful, **"Adieu."**

Only Judy felt sorry for him. John didn't want to hear one bit of sympathy for the man. Even if Smith had found a vehicle, John surmised that he would not be capable of repairing it. John reiterated his rule – **"Until further notice, Dr. Smith is off-limits." **Don pointedly stared at Judy as he echoed John's sentiments.

* * *

As they ate dinner, Judy was especially quiet and couldn't look at her parents or Don because they had refused to forgive Dr. Smith for his latest fiasco. Don glanced at John and Maureen and they appeared to be unconcerned, but Don was still upset about his and Judy's last conversation. His worst fear was that he and Judy would drift apart. He couldn't let that happen. "Hey, Judy, you look like you could use some air. How about a walk after dinner?" he asked her.

"No, thank you, Don," she responded.

She was polite, but distant. Don couldn't stand it. "Is that a 'No, thank you, I'm tired,' or a 'No, thank you, I'm angry' response?"

She remained cool and calm. "That is a 'No, thank you, I'm busy response. I promised to help Penny with her hair tonight."

"It's all right, Judy," Penny interjected. "Mom can help me."

"No, Penny. I promised," Judy repeated.

"Don't worry about it, Penny, I'll catch her when you're done," Don stated. He wasn't about to let Judy use Penny as an excuse to stay away from him. He'd get to her sooner or later.

____________________________________ 

Little did they know that the owner of the alien ship Dr. Smith had encountered was more than capable of repairing it himself, but he welcomed any deck hand that he could mold into a subordinate, especially children. Will met the owner of the ship as he was looking for Dr. Smith. When Will returned to camp, he unfolded a tale of an Admiral Zahrk of the Imperial Cassiopeian navy who proclaimed to be the captain of the alien ship. Will went on to say that the captain attempted to force him into stewardship, but he escaped.

John and Maureen didn't believe him, but Don thought his story was wild enough to be almost true. Nonetheless, John decided to investigate the next day. He and Don did indeed find an alien ship. They realized that both Will and Smith had been telling the truth – at least about the ship. There was no sign of a crew, however, and Don wasn't sure if the ship would function or not.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Dr. Smith has gotten himself in trouble again. He accidentally destroyed our weather station and said that he would leave us since Dad ordered all of us not to speak with him. He said that he would take off in an alien space ship he had found. Don decided to call his bluff and left a propulsion unit outside the alien ship to see if he would install it and leave.

I was angry at Don, Mom and Dad for giving Dr. Smith the silent treatment. I followed Dad's orders, but I didn't feel good about it. Dr. Smith doesn't ever think anything is his fault, so he doesn't respond to punishment. My feelings always were that we will get further with Dr. Smith with kindness rather than nastiness… but now that I think about it, Dr. Smith doesn't seem to respond to anything except what Dr. Smith wants.

Will, the Robot and Dr. Smith ended up taking off in that alien space ship. It turns out that the admiral Will had talked about was real. Penny and Dad found the ship's log and it explained that there had been a mutiny on the alien ship led by a Mr. Kidnoh, who set Admiral Zahrk adrift in that rickety old space ship.

The propulsion unit Don had left for them to install on the ship had a magnetic drive unit in it, and Dad built some sort of machine that used a negative magnetic drive to attract it back to the planet. I guess it was sort of like magnets, only on a much stronger scale. I mean it wasn't _like_ magnets, it really _was_ magnets. Well anyway, either Dad is a genius, or the luckiest man in the universe.

The ship fired at us, but missed several times. Admiral Zahrk landed the ship and dropped off Will and Dr. Smith and then took off again to find his Mr. Kidnoh. I'm glad that little adventure is over."

* * *

Don encouraged Judy to sneak out of the _Jupiter _for a walk while Will, Penny and Dr. Smith were pretending to be thespians. Don had respected her feelings and tried his best to treat her as 'unromantically' as possible, but he found that his resolve was weakening. "So, how do you think I've done with my treating you like a sister?" Don asked.

"You seem to have adapted well," she said.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"You've barely touched my elbow, let alone looked at me," Judy responded.

"Well, it was what you wanted to protect Penny. Do you think it helped any?"

"Her mood has been better, Don. I know we can't keep this up forever, but I think it's helping her right now not to have romance staring her in the face."

"It hasn't done much for my mood."

"You haven't seemed to be angry or frustrated."

Don sighed. "No, I've just let go of all expectations when it comes to us."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not expecting anything more from us. We've had our past and this is where we're at – maybe forever."

"Oh, Don, don't say that!"

"Then give me some hope."

"I still want to marry you."

"Do you?"

She nodded and approached him. "I can show you, if you want me to…"

"Reallk?" He crossed his arms. "All right. Show me…"

She swayed her hips as she approached him and curled her arms around his neck. Then she gave him a brief kiss on the lips, and another and another… each one with a little bit more pressure. She finally wore him down. He uncrossed his arms and brought her closer to him and she kissed him as lovingly as she had ever done before.

"Hm… ok… I believe you… Are you ready to give up the idea that we have to 'cool it' in front of Penny?"

"Not yet, Don. Can't we just sneak a moment here and there?"

He rolled his eyes. "All right, Judy, but I still think it's a bad idea…"

_______________________________________ 

As Will, Penny and Dr. Smith practiced a play he had written about Odin, the Nordic mythical god of Valhalla, a storm brewed and large silver gloves descended and placed themselves on Dr. Smith's hands!

**The Space Vikings** (Written by **Margaret Brookman Hill**)

As Penny and Will ran back to the ship, a golden hammer landed in Dr. Smith's hands. He spoke to it and decided that it was useless and threw it away. It landed near the _Jupiter_ and exploded, but despite being rained upon with rocks, no one was hurt. When Penny and Will saw their father, they recounted their story.

As the family had lunch, they discussed what had caused the explosion, but no one was aware that Dr. Smith had been responsible. Smith returned to eat and made no mention of the articles he had found or the explosion, and his appetite was a strong as ever. John decided to scout the entire perimeter around the _Jupiter_ and Dr. Smith eagerly took his food and left with the Robot to survey his assigned area.

Don shook his head. "Something is up with him."

"Don, you always think badly of him," Judy replied.

"Come on, Judy, when was the last time you saw Smith jump up so fast to do a job?"

She shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Don turned to Maureen and John and said, "I think she's beginning to see the light!"

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Will told us a wild tale about Dr. Smith getting involved with a Viking warrior and riding a winged horse. None of us believed him until Dad actually saw him disappear on that horse! Will and Dr. Smith returned, though, safe and sound. I don't know. I almost feel like I'm living in a fairytale land. It's been one unbelievable story after another lately.

* * *

As Penny, Will, the Robot and Dr. Smith played softball, another magical, unbelievable tale was about to unfold. After Penny swung the bat and hit the ball, Dr. Smith backed up and was ready to catch it when a wizard appeared and caught the ball for him. He changed it into an egg and then back into a ball, and then the wizard disappeared. Neither of the children saw the wizard, which upset Dr. Smith to no end. He was sitting right beside him, and even the Robot did not see him. The three of them took Dr. Smith back to the spaceship and he continued to question his sanity.

**Rocket to Earth** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

"Dear Joan,

Dr. Smith saw a man that no one else saw. It turns out that now Will has seen him too. He's a Mr. Zalto and he's some sort of magician. He's supposedly taken Dr. Smith on as his apprentice. He has a space ship and he wants Dr. Smith to pilot it to a deserted asteroid for some reason. Well, Dr. Smith has just told us that he intends to take the ship back to Earth. Dad and Don are upset with him because he's stealing the ship. Dad said that we all want to go back to Earth, but we don't like his methods. He's come back to pack and expects to leave tomorrow. Will is going to be the one who's the most upset. He's adopted Dr. Smith almost like a playmate – or maybe I should say that Dr. Smith is like a little brother to Will. Well, I should go and tell him good-bye."

* * *

"Dr. Smith?" Judy found him leaving his room.

"My dear, sweet, Judith. Have you come to bid me adieu?" Dr. Smith asked.

"Yes, Dr., Smith. Please take care of yourself."

"Oh, you shall miss me, shan't you?"

She nodded and gave him a hug.

"Oh, I shall miss you dearly. You were always ready to come to my assistance when that malicious major would malign me. Thank you, dear girl."

"Talking about me, Smith?" Don asked as he came up behind Judy.

"You are the only one I shall be happy to leave behind, Major," Smith stated.

"Ah, come on, Smith…" Don stuck his hand out. "No hard feelings?"

Smith turned his head away from him and sniffed as he walked away.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Dr. Smith took off in Zalto's ship and Will was with him! They came within site of Earth and tried to reach Alpha Control, but apparently no one heard their call. They were able to receive communication, but not send it. They were warned by something called the United Defense Command Headquarters that they would be obliterated if they didn't respond. Somehow, they were able to turn the ship around and return to us.

It would have been a possible rescue for us, Joan, but I'm glad they're both safe. Who knows what would have happened to them if they had landed. Dr. Smith might have been thrown in jail and Will might have been put with a foster family if he couldn't remember how to contact you or our grandparents.

Actually, Joan, we are ready for another flight in the _Jupiter_. Dad and Don are checking the systems now. Don told me that there is an open flight corridor for Alpha Centauri at eight a.m. tomorrow morning. We have to hit it exactly. If there are no complications, we should be back on track to fulfill our mission and once we land, Don and I can get back to taking our relationship off its holding pattern. Thank goodness. I don't think I could stand another minute on this planet!"

* * *

As Judy spoke those words, Dr. Smith was searching for rocks with Will and hit a gaseous vein that exploded, knocking him to the ground…

**The Cave of the Wizards** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

After he picked himself off the ground, Dr. Smith was no longer… Dr. Smith… Actually, he had no idea who he was. The Robot diagnosed him with amnesia and left to find Will.

Dr. Smith entered a cave in which an alien force took control of him. When Will and the Robot found Smith, he had no intention of returning to the _Jupiter 2_ due to his amnesia, so the Robot smacked Dr. Smith in the head with a rock and his amnesia was gone. Then they left to find the _Jupiter 2_.

* * *

The crew had just received their final briefing from John, and Maureen had prepared a wonderful meal for their final night on the planet. Dr. Smith had intended on returning to the cave using the excuse that he had left his tape recorder at the ore site, but he remained for dinner, delaying his trip to the cave.

"Madam, you have outdone yourself," Dr. Smith stated as he helped himself to a second serving of dessert.

"It hasn't been so bad, Mom," Will stated. "I found lots of interesting rock formations."

"And that was all this planet had," Judy stated. "If it weren't for the hydroponic garden, we would have starved. Nothing could grow in this rocky soil."

"I agree with Will," Penny added. "We had lots of adventures here. Remember the knight and the beast?"

"And the space circus?" Will added. "And Mr. Zumdish and the toymaker?"

Penny sighed, "And Verda? I really miss her. I wonder how she is?"

"I'm sure she's fine, Penny," Judy stated.

"Well, I'm ready to get out of here," Don stated. "We finally have a shot to reach Alpha Centauri and complete this mission."

"Complete the mission? And once we reach Alpha Centauri – what then, Major? Do we build log cabins and plant corn like our ancestors?" Dr. Smith asked.

"That would be a start, Smith." He glanced at Judy. He wanted to say more, perhaps announce his hope of starting a family with Judy, but he held back still working under Judy's rules to 'cool' their relationships when Penny was near.

"Humph! Earth is where we should be going!" Dr. Smith complained.

"Dr. Smith, I admire your persistence," John stated, "but you know that returning to Earth is no longer an option. Since your last attempt to return resulted in you and Will almost being blown out of the sky, I would have thought that you had finally accepted that your fate is tied to ours."

"As if I had a choice," Smith stated.

"Oh, you have a choice, Smith. You can choose to stay here," Don tossed out.

Smith stood and threw his nose in the air. "Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you," he snarled. "I do not need to take such abuse. I am leaving to retrieve my tape recorder."

"Just be back before lift-off, Smith, or it's 'So long, nice knowin' you,'" Don retorted as he saluted him.

As Dr. Smith stomped off, Judy reprimanded Don. "Don, that was mean…"

"Mean? It's the truth, Judy. If he's not harnessed in before lift-off, we're leaving without him."

* * *

"Dear Joan,

We've lost our best attempt to get to Alpha Centauri. And, yes, it was Dr. Smith's fault again. He went off to some cave that had an alien force inside a computer. He put on an amulet and crown, which was really a red cap, of an alien society called the Draconians. He thought it would give him omnipotent powers. He was supposed to restore the society to its former glory.

Will tried to get Dr. Smith to come back before we had to leave, but Dr. Smith was transforming into something else. Will said that his ears and eyebrows pointed straight up, just like that character in that old science fiction TV show. What was his name? Spock? Yes, Spock from Star Trek. Dr. Smith refused to return to the _Jupiter._ Will talked Dad and Don into trying to bring him back, and Don was furious because they had to stop the count down, but Dr. Smith was lost to the alien force. Then Will snuck out of the ship and tried to talk Dr. Smith into coming back himself. Will came back in time, but without Dr. Smith. If Dad hadn't seen Dr. Smith and the Robot on the radar, we would have taken off without them. Once he saw that they were trying to come back, though, he ordered Don to stop the countdown. Now we have to wait for God knows how long until we find another open vector to Alpha Centauri. It's back to the drudgery."

* * *

Dr. Smith was teaching Penny and Will the 'gentlemen's game' of roulette when they found a gold coin lying on the ground. In searching for more, Penny found a round handle. Dr. Smith pulled the handle and descended into the ground…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME

SAME WEBSITE…


	10. Treasure of Lost Pl & Revolt of Androids

_Last week, as you recall, an evil admiral tried to kidnap Will. Then the Robinsons ran into a troop of space Vikings and then a magician whose ship Dr. Smith tried to steal. The Jupiter crew lost their best chance to escape the planet when Dr. Smith was taken over by an ancient being who expected him to restore their society to its former glory. He was able to escape the influence of the being, but not in time for the Robinsons to hit their escape vector. Their chance for a direct route to Alpha Centauri was gone and they would have to wait for another window of opportunity. Then, while teaching the children how to play roulette, Dr. Smith found a gold coin on the ground and suddenly fell through a hole… _

**Treasure of the Lost Planet** (Written by **Carey Wilber**)

Dr. Smith found a treasure chest in the hole he had fallen through, and within that chest was another, and within that one was a smaller box. He brought it above ground when he climbed out of the hole and opened it, only to find a golden head. He thought it was gruesome and left it in its place, but its eyes started to glow and it said, **"Good evening."**

* * *

The four adults were sitting around the table finishing their after dinner coffee when Don asked Judy, **"What do you say? How about a short walk around the planet?"**

"**That's the best offer I've had all evening. As a matter of fact, it's the only offer,"** she replied.

"**Oh, you really know how to hurt a guy!"**

"**It isn't that I'm not flattered,"** she said**, "but it would be nice, just once, to have one other offer."**

"**Okay, some other time."**

"**Well, I didn't say I didn't want to go,"**

"**Oh, like, wow!"**

"**Well, just be sure you have her back by midnight,"** Maureen teased.

"**Yes, you do that, and next time I'll let you have the keys to the Chariot, fella,"** John jokingly stated.

Don hustled Judy away from the table, as he heard Dr. Smith, the Robot and the children return from their walk. Penny glanced at Judy and Don as they left and Dr. Smith complained that the Robot made it impossible to have a peaceful walk because of his jabbering. The Robot then announced that there were aliens underfoot – four and one-eighth to be exact. **"Four and one-eighth?"** Maureen repeated.

"**The disembodied head measure exactly nine inches. That computes to exactly one-eighth of an alien."**

Maureen wondered what he was talking about and Dr. Smith gave up on the entire scenario and went to bed, soon to be followed by the rest of the family, except for Don and Judy, who were enjoying their time alone.

* * *

As the rest of the family debated the meaning of one-eighth of an alien, Judy and Don settled into their private spot. Judy wrapped her arms around Don's chest as they nestled against the rocks. "Goodness, you rushed me away from there," Judy complained. "I thought we were going for a walk, not a jog."

"I could hear the kids coming, so I wanted to get you out of there before Penny saw us. We're still in the 'cool it in front of Penny' mode – remember?" he reminded her.

"Oh, well, I was going to tell you that Penny and I had a talk."

"Really?" He wasn't surprised. "So, tell me."

"Well, Penny asked if there was something wrong between us."

"I knew she'd wonder what happened. She's too perceptive with people. What did you tell her?"

"I reassured her that we're fine."

"You didn't tell her that you were just trying to make things easier for her?"

"Of course not, she would have felt guilty."

"And _that_ was my argument against your idea from the beginning!"

"Well, you were right."

"Could you repeat that?"

"Repeat what?"

"The 'you were right' part. I'd like to hear that again."

She picked her head up. "Donald West! What are you insinuating?"

"Just that you don't appreciate me."

"That's not true!"

"Then what was the 'you're the only offer I've had' bit at the table tonight?"

"Oh, I was just teasing you. You know that!"

"Well, I'm not sure my ego has fully recovered from our encounter with Morbus."

"You're not going to let me forget that, are you?"

He didn't reply right away. It had hurt him… deeply… "It was the first time I thought I could lose you to another man. It scared me, Judy."

"I know… I'm sorry, Don."

"Well, I'm sorry I brought it up. I guess my ego is still kind of fragile."

"What can I do to build it up again?" she asked.

He looked into the depths of her eyes that were open and unguarded and shone with love. "Just look at me the way you're looking at me now." He waited for their souls to touch and then leaned his head forward. Their lips met and erased a little bit more of the dark memories. He didn't fool himself into thinking that there would be no more hurt because in a relationship as deep as theirs, hurt was as inevitable as love, but love would always triumph in the end.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Captain Tucker returned and he brought his crew along with him this time. He said that he was searching for Beelibones' lost treasure and the box that Dr. Smith found could lead him to it. Dr. Smith fell into a hole and found a box that held a golden head in it. The head would say **"Good evening,"** when it was activated. The head was supposed to turn in the direction of the treasure. They did find the treasure, Joan, but it was just a box full of pig iron. Since Beelibones' planet has a wealth of gold and little iron, gold was worthless and iron was valuable. Tucker swore off his pirates' ways and went on his way."

* * *

Dr. Smith was collecting rubies when an abominable snowman type of creature chased him for the jewels and ate them. Dr. Smith ran away from the creature, but tried to talk the Robot and Will into helping him collect more rubies from the cave of the hungry monster when the Robot warned them that a super android was approaching…

* * *

**Revolt of the Androids** (Written by **Bob and Wanda Duncan**)

The android appeared in a flash of light, but it wasn't functioning. When Will put the android's control panel back on its belt, against the warning of the Robot, it came to life and started repeating… **"Crush! Kill! Destroy!"** When it tried to attack Will and the Robot, it was clear that it wasn't as dangerous as it portended to be. He claimed to be 'all-powerful,' but when it tried to crush rocks in its hands it wasn't even able to break off a crumb.

The Android wore a shield with the letters, **'I-D-A-K,'** which he said stood for **"Instant Destroyer and Killer,"** or Idak for short. He was programmed to destroy an Android Model 110, also known as Target Android 105. Little did they know that his target android was indeed in the vicinity.

Judy and Penny were gathering flowers for their mother when they heard groaning nearby. Penny wanted to get back to the ship, but Judy insisted that they find whoever was in trouble, and they did… It was Verda!

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Our android, Verda, has come back and she is almost totally human now! She's beautiful. Penny and I brought her back to the ship. She is being hunted down by a super android because the Celestial Department Store is under new management and all "B" model androids were ordered to be disassembled. I'm sure Mom and Dad will want to protect her."

* * *

Don returned to camp while Judy was talking in her diary and Penny told him how she and Judy had found Verda. "You mean to tell me that you and Judy heard this moaning and went to investigate on her your own… without weapons?" Don stated.

"Yes, Don. Judy said that it sounded like someone was in trouble and we had to help. I'm glad we did," Penny answered.

"Let's find Judy," Don said. He took Penny into the ship and found Judy putting her recorder away in her room. "Judy, Penny told me how you found Verda. Do you know how dangerous that could have been?"

"I knew someone was in trouble and we had to help," Judy said.

"But you had no idea what you could have been getting into. You could have found the android who's hunting her down instead of Verda, and then what would you have done?"

"Oh, Don, that didn't happen, so there was nothing to worry about."

"But it _could_ have happened. You and Penny could have been hurt!"

"But we weren't!"

Penny interrupted their argument. "Can I go now?" she asked. Don nodded and waved her away.

"Don't you get it, Judy? You can't just go off like that! You should have come back for me or your dad!"

"Stop yelling at me, Don! I knew what I was doing, so don't lecture me!"

John overheard their argument and came into Judy's room, "What are you two arguing about now?" he asked.

"Don is lecturing me about helping Verda," Judy explained.

"Not that you helped her, but that you went off on your own without a thought to your own safety!"

"Don has a point, Judy," John said.

Judy was indignant. "Dad! I can't believe you're taking his side."

Don gleefully stated, "That's because I'm right!"

John knew they wouldn't settle this argument easily. "Don, we need to get the force field working if we're going to protect Verda. How about going out to work on it?"

Don stared at Judy for just a second longer before replying. "Sure. See if you can talk some sense into her."

Judy crossed her arms and fumed at that statement. John waited for Don to leave and then said, "You know, he is right, Judy. You didn't know who or what you were going to face when you and Penny went to investigate."

"But, Dad, there wasn't any danger," Judy said.

"Did you know it was Verda?"

"No, but…"

"But… you could have been walking into a dangerous situation. Isn't that correct?"

Judy couldn't deny it. "Yes, it is."

"So, next time, come back and get help before you go off blindly investigating. Deal?"

Judy smiled. Of course, her father was always right. "Deal," she said.

"All right, let's get out there and see how Don is doing.

John and Judy walked out of the ship and Judy walked past Don without a glance. She wasn't about to let him think that he was right… even though he was. Don ignored her too, and he had to report that the force field would be down for another twenty-four hours.

Judy complimented Penny on the wonderful job she was doing on the garden when the Idak appeared from behind a rock. She glanced back at Don and her father, who told her and Penny to slowly back up and make their way into the ship, and then he instructed Don to get out the laser rifles. John shot at the android, but the laser weapon had no effect.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Verda is just amazing. She talked to the android that was trying to destroy her into believing that his control mechanism was faulty and she wasn't his target because she was human. It turns out that Idak, that's what he calls himself, has human qualities so it can make decisions. Verda is teaching him how to be human. She has started out by having Will teach him how to play baseball, but she showed him how to hold a bat. He has quite a swing! He put a hole in a rock that's at least a foot deep!

By the way, I'm mad at Don. He reprimanded me for helping Verda without having any weapons. I think he was just being a chauvinist. He wants me to be the helpless female so that he can be my big strong protector… and don't tell me that there's nothing wrong with that. I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

* * *

Dr. Smith let slip that Verda was indeed an android and Idak tried to destroy her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it and short-circuited. A machine appeared and delivered a second, stronger Idak, the Omega 17 model. This second Idak was programmed to destroy, not only Verda, but also anyone who got in its way. It could also destroy the original Idak, model Alpha 12.

Don and John were waiting for the Omega 17 with their laser rifles, although Don asked John, **"If the lasers didn't work against the first Idak, what makes you think they'll work against the second?"**

"**They may not, but we've still gotta try,"** John answered. When the Omega 17 approached, John shot him with the laser to no effect. He shouted for Will to get the Robot and Don tried hitting the thing with his rifle and John did the same. Judy and Maureen were in the hatch way and saw the Omega 17 take the weapons from the men, but John and Don were able to push the Idak away from them. John threw sand in the Idak's face and instructed Don to get back to the ship. Don picked up the rifles and ran after John, who closed the hatch.

"Are you all right?" Judy asked her father, who replied, "We're fine. Where's Penny?"

"She's here, but what about Will?" Maureen asked.

"I sent him for the Robot." He should be safe as long as the Idak keeps trying to get to us."

"Let's hope he can't break through the hatch," Don commented.

Will sent the Robot to help, but he was easily disabled by the Omega 17. Verda tried to talk the original Idak, Alpha 12, into helping, but he doubted himself because he had lost his powers. He was no longer a 'super android.'

Verda, Dr. Smith and Will returned to the Jupiter to find the Omega 17 throwing huge rocks at the Jupiter's hatch. The Alpha 12, however, surprised her by coming up behind them and offered to have the Omega 17 chase him and finish him off, giving the rest of them time to get away.

As the rest of the Robinsons watched from the viewport, Verda handed the Alpha 12 a rock and reminded him about how well he did with the baseball. She told him that he didn't need super powers to destroy the Omega 17… and that she believed in him. He took the rock from her hand and replied, **"If you think I can do it... then I will try."**

He squared off with the Omega 17 and was quickly disarmed and thrown back towards Verda, who helped him up. **"I can't,"** he told her.

"**Yes, you can. You can. You must believe that,"** she encouraged.

"**I believe,"** he replied.

Judy's hand crept towards Don's as they watched the scene unfold before them. He wrapped his fingers around hers and gave her a grateful smile. The Alpha 12 was on the defensive, but managed to grab a rock in his right hand. The Omega had him down on the ground for the fifth time, but the Alpha 12 was able to throw a perfect fastball at the Omega's access plate and disabled him.

John opened the hatch and they left the Jupiter, with Don carrying his laser rifle. A machine appeared and vacuumed up the Omega 17. John instructed Don to get a disintegrator capsule. The machine then turned it's attention to the Alpha 12 and started to suck him up. Don handed the capsule to John, who instructed the women to stay put. Don hung onto Idak to keep him from being sucked in while John threw the capsule into the heart of the machine and he returned to help Don. Together, they were able to break the suction and get Idak away from the machine before it exploded and disappeared.

Don and John returned to the women and Idak approached Verda who reached for his hand. **"Why do you seek contact of our digital senses?"** Idak asked her.

"**It's something humans do when they want to be close to another human,"** she replied.

"**Oh,"** he said and covered her hand with his. **"I like it very much."**

Smith offered to become Idak's manager and said that he would take him to Earth.

"**Athletes? Managers? You must be kidding Smith, you couldn't manage a flea circus,"** Don stated while Idak and Verda looked into each other's eyes.

"**You will sing a different tune, Major, once I get him back to Earth. I can see it now, blazoned across the sports pages – 'Idak Wins the World Series.' Or better still: 'Dr. Zachary Smith's Protégé Wins the world Series.'"**

Verda interrupted his dreaming. **"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Dr. Smith, but neither one of us can stay here."** She proposed that she and Idak escape to a small planet nearby where there are no people. They would never be found.

"**Do you have to go?"** Will asked Idak.

"**I want to go,"** he replied. **"Good-bye, Will Robinson."**

Will extended his hand and Verda showed Idak how to shake it. She then said her good-byes to the rest of the family and gave Penny a hug. **"Remember me,"** she said. **"I love you all." **She and Idak held hands and disappeared and the Robot revived.

* * *

After dinner, Don knew it was time to properly make-up with Judy. "Judy, would you like to take a walk and, uh, make contact with out digital senses?"

Judy glanced at her parents, who nodded, and John teasingly added, "Make sure that's all you make contact with."

Don grasped Judy's hand as they walked away from camp down the path to their usual spot. "So, still mad at me?" he asked her.

"Oh, of course not," Judy answered.

They remained silent until they settled against their boulder. Judy laid her head on his chest and listened to his heart. "So, am I forgiven for worrying about you?" Don asked.

"You know that worrying wasn't the problem… It was your assumption that I can't take care of myself. For your information, Penny and I aren't just helpless females. We've taken care of ourselves before."

"Like when that golden guy showed up? Or that thief, Ohan?"

"We did all right both times."

"Judy, I just want you to be more careful. You should assume the worst could happen and be ready for it. I mean, at least you could have come back to the ship for a weapon before you went looking for Verda… You have to agree that, if it wasn't Verda you found, you and Penny could have been in danger."

"Don, I knew that someone or something was hurt. I was afraid to take the time to go back to the Jupiter." She hated to give in, but he was right… "And I've already had this discussion with Dad. Next time, I'll come back for a weapon."

Don smiled. "Good. Now… how about some digital contact?"

"What part of me would you like your digits to make contact with?"

"You mean I have a choice?"

She smiled coyly. "Within reason…"

"Whose reason? Yours or mine?"

"I'll tell you what… if your 'reason' doesn't match up with mine… I'll let you know."

"Hm… sounds fair to me…" He leaned down and kissed her lips, letting his fingers lightly drift over her body. She did the same, but she untucked his shirt and ran her hand up his naked chest. He pulled back when she hit a particularly sensitive spot.

"Unreasonable?" she asked.

"Uh, no… not at all… I was just, uh… surprised, that's all.

"But I've touched you there before."

"Yeah, but not, uh, skin to skin."

"Too much?"

"No, no… I like it…"

"Can I continue?"

"With my blessings…"

* * *

John and Don had designed a system of relays that would enable them to communicate around the planet and beyond. There would be four stations, with the main station being at the Jupiter. Setting up the four stations had almost become a battle of the sexes. Judy was still smarting a bit from Don's excessive worry when she and Penny had found Verda, and Will was constantly proclaiming the superiority of males over females, especially in the area of electronics.

When John handed out the work assignments, he had assumed that Judy would want to be paired with Don, but she surprised him. She and Penny had complained about how they were sometimes treated as second-class citizens by the men and wanted to work together as a team. So he paired Will with the Robot and Don (much to his chagrin) with Dr. Smith. He and Maureen would work on the station at the Jupiter.

Don and Dr. Smith worked at station number one. Or, it should be said that Don worked at station number one. Dr. Smith ate and read while he handed tools to Don. When Don asked for a wrench, Smith handed him a hammer. Don commented, **"Smith, you must have been reading my mind instead of hearing my words. 'Cause there's nothing in the world I'd rather do than crown you with this."**

"**But whatever for? I haven't done a thing."**

"**Exactly!"**

Don called relay station two and Will answered. Both would be up and functioning within a few minutes. Judy and Penny had just about finished their work at station three, except for one thing, the battery – once that was in place, they were ready to go. They turned on the unit and it began to transmit to station two, but then a high-pitched screeching sound assaulted all of their ears, and none of the stations could be turned off, even with the batteries disconnected. Then relay station three exploded in a shower of sparks, knocking the girls to the ground…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	11. Colonists & Trip Throught the Robot

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinsons were visited by old friends whom they thought they would never see again. The first was the space pirate, Captain Tucker, who was searching for Beelibones' treasure; however, what was valuable to Beelibones was worthless to Captain Tucker and he swore off of his pirate ways. The beloved android, Verda, returned and was confronted by another android, IDAK, who was programmed to destroy her. The Robinsons protected Verda, who was becoming more and more human. She was able to humanize IDAK, and they left to settle an uninhabited planet where their evil employers would never find them. Don and the Robinsons were now in the process of setting up a series of relay stations that would make it possible to communicate almost anywhere, however, their efforts were interrupted by an alien transmission and the stations overheated…_

**The Colonists** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

The Robot reported to Will that they were receiving an alien sound wave that destroyed all of their communication equipment. John told Maureen that even their back-up system was burned out, meaning that the destruction was deliberate. Don first blamed Dr. Smith, but soon realized that he had nothing to do with the current crisis. He and Dr. Smith went to the girls' relay station and found only a work glove on the ground. Don assumed that the girls had returned to the Jupiter, so he and Dr. Smith swung by Will and the Robot's station before returning to camp. While there, however, a disembodied voice ordered them to return to the Jupiter where they were told that they would be contacted again. When Don asked what this was all about, he was told, **"Prisoners may not ask questions."**

When told to surrender their weapons, Don said**, "No, thanks,"** and drew his gun, which was knocked out of his hand by an invisible force and melted when it hit the ground. The disembodied voice was heard again and ordered them to surrender all their weapons. While Don, John and Maureen pondered the fate of the children, Dr. Smith entered the ship and carried their weapons out. Don told Dr. Smith to return the weapons, and John told Maureen that, until they knew what had happened to Judy and the children, they would have to play along with the voice.

While the adults were contending with the female voice, Will and the robot found the main campsite of the alien aggressor in a cave. While Will made an attempt to change the frequencies of the aliens' main communication machine, a female clad in black with a spiked black cap appeared, along with male guards who stopped Will from escaping. The female, Niolani, took credit for destroying the Robinsons' radio network.

Niolani then appeared at the Jupiter campsite. She again demanded that they surrender their weapons. **"What about our children?"** John asked.

"**They have been taken captive along with that repulsive creature, class M-3,"** Niolani stated.

Since Niolani had the children, John agreed to her demands and ordered Don to retrieve the weapons. While Don and Smith gathered them, Don hid one under the shirt he had slung over his shoulder, but it did not fool Niolani.

"**There is a weapon missing,"** Niolani stated. **"You have the vulgar cunning of all members of your sex,"** Niolani exclaimed as Don whipped out the pistol, but she burned it out of his hand with a wave of her wand. **"If there are any further attempts at escape or violence – by any of you," **Niolani warned, **"your end will be swift, I promise you."** She then forced the adults to march to her campsite and left the guards to watch them.

After she retreated into her cave, Don mumbled, **"Any woman who acts like a barbarian is gonna be treated like one. From now on, she is interplanetary enemy number one."**

John warned him, **"We'll do nothing until we know about the children."**

Dr. Smith spotted Will moving rocks. **"Will seems safe enough. Look,"** he stated.

"**Will!"** Maureen called and she attempted to go to him, but was stopped by Niolani. **"The male child is a captive. Let him be," **she exclaimed.

"**But he's my son!"** Maureen interjected.

"**The women of my nation have had many sons. They are of little worth to us. Fall in!"** she commanded the men. **"You have no doubt all wondered why you were taken prisoner."**

John said, **"Yes, I've been more than wondering."**

"**And if I had half the chance – "** Don threatened, but John stopped him.

Niolani explained to Don, **"Your moral courage is not what is needed here. What we need is your male animal strength. That is all."**

"**Does that include the strength of children?"** Maureen demanded to know.

"**Only male children,"** Niolani answered. She went on to read a proclamation from a scroll indicating that the planet had been chosen as a pioneer colony for female warriors of the Kondor Nation. The men were to prepare the landing pad, as well as an electronic purifying arch through which all of the warriors would have to pass in order to breathe the air. **"You will be expected to work night and day, with only brief periods for food and rest. Laggards, I must warn you, will be severely punished. It will be futile for you to attempt escape, as you will now see."** Niolani waved her wand and a force field barrier appeared around the campsite.

Don, still angry at their predicament and refusing to bend to her will, said, **"Doesn't look like much of a barrier to me."**

Niolani challenged him. **"Go on, try it. You are the arrogant one."** Don picked up a rock and tossed it at the barrier, and it disintegrated into cinders and smoke. She ordered the men to work and told Maureen to come with her.

"**No, I want to stay here,"** Maureen replied.

"**You will now fulfill your true destiny. Come."** John nodded to Maureen and she left with Niolani. The men started clearing the rocks.

* * *

After some time, Don was allowed a food break, and Judy snuck out of the cave to be with him. Don took her hand and exclaimed, **"Judy. Judy, are you all right?"**

She sat on the rock next to him and replied, **"Uh-huh. Penny's all right too. She's with Mother."**

Don was relieved. **"Oh, good."** He was glad to see her unharmed. **"Well, I hope they haven't been working you the way they've been working us."**

"**Uh-uh. Women have their privileges in this community, Don."**

"**Really? Like what?"** he asked.

"**Oh, like being waited on by men while Niolani tells us all about the estimable virtues of the female, and the not-so-estimable vices of the male."**

"**Hmm. I hope you haven't been swallowing any of that."**

Penny came up behind them and admonished her sister. **"Judy, you shouldn't be here with Don like this. You know it's against the rules."**

"**Yeah, well, you can tell Niolani for me, Penny, that it's not against human nature,"** Don stated. **"And there's nothing she's going to do about that."**

Judy looked guilty and stated, **"I'd better go."** Don reached out for her hand, but Judy slipped away with Penny. Don returned to his food, angry and frustrated.

* * *

As they walked back to the cave, Penny complained to her sister, "You shouldn't have gone to him. I could report you, you know."

"I had to be sure he was all right," Judy responded.

"Of course he's all right. If you ask me, you're better off without him anyway."

"Penny, you're too young to understand."

"Oh, I understand… You only need him for one thing, Judy…"

"Penny!" Maureen called as she approached the girls. "Where were you?"

"I had to go and pull Judy away from Don, Mom, or she would have gotten into trouble."

"Oh, I see," Maureen replied as she gave Judy a sympathetic look. "I must admit, I'm worried about them too, Judy."

"Well, they're okay for now, Mom. We better get back to our, ahem, education."

"I don't think I can stomach another one of those lectures…"

"Well, I think Niolani makes a lot of sense," Penny said. "All we do is feed the males and do their laundry. They treat us like we can't even think for ourselves. Why I bet we could learn to fly the Jupiter as well as Don could, but he'd never teach us because then we wouldn't need him anymore."

"Penny! I think you've had enough 'education' from Niolani," Maureen stated.

"Well, it's true, isn't it? I mean, once Judy has children, what else would she need Don for?"

"I wouldn't want to raise our children without him, Penny," Judy responded. "Think about what our family life would have been like without Dad?"

"Family is one thing Niolani has _not_ talked about, Penny," Maureen stated. "She treats having children and raising them as if they were eggs laid by chickens. Once they hatch, the parents' job is done. There's a lot more to raising children than simply having them."

"And there's a lot more to 'human nature' than just having children…" Judy added.

* * *

Dr. Smith painted a mural underneath the arch as John, Will and Don completed the heavy work. He was able to ingratiate himself with Niolani due to his **'artistic flair'** and she took him on as her **'consort.'** While Smith was with her, John and Don brainstormed ways to sabotage the arrival of the colonists. John wanted to alter the flight path of the arriving ships by readjusting the hypersonic transmitter. Will suggested that they simply do something to the arch. Then Dr. Smith came out holding Niolani's scepter, as he was assigned the task of supervising their work, which was nearly complete.

Once the arch was done, Don and John pushed their way past the guards into Niolani's lair where Dr. Smith was serving her. John demanded his release, as well as the release of his family. Niolani informed him that colonization was a never-ending task and told him and Don that they would be transported to another planet to perform the same function.

The two men had no intention of being held captive forever and immediately attacked the guards. Don managed to get over to the transmitter and started to readjust it when Niolani exclaimed, **"You are inviting death."**

Don replied, **"Well, it's better than being one of your male slaves."**

Niolani aimed her scepter at him, and he fell back against the machine as if he was electrocuted and then dropped, unconscious. Don and John were dragged out of the cave by the guards. Niolani then received a message that the colonists were to arrive with the rising sun. Once they were through the arch, Niolani would search for another habitable planet. Dr. Smith told her about Earth, but Niolani explained that females never follow men…

* * *

The girls were asleep when Maureen heard the commotion near the transmitter. She went to investigate and asked Niolani what had happened.

"You have not trained your men well. They continue to be arrogant and stupid," Niolani replied.

"But are they all right?" Maureen asked.

"Your consort is fine. The other will recover once the effects of the shock wear off. He must learn his place."

"I'm going to them," Maureen stated.

"Do as you will… The arch is in place and the colonists are on their way. We won't need the men until the colonists have all come through the arch. Then the men will dismantle it and move it to another planet. The arrogant one will have more than enough time to recover."

Maureen took a container of water and brought it outside with her. John was helping Don steady himself on a rock. She poured water into a cup and gave it to Don to drink and asked him if he was all right. He said that he felt as if he had been thrown over Niagara Falls, but thought he'd be okay. John mentioned that they had some guns at the drill site, and he hoped to escape if they could get the force field down. Don noticed that the controls of the force field were on the transmitter antenna, and Maureen volunteered to try to get to them.

Maureen was successful, but Dr. Smith thwarted their escape, and Don and John were led back into the camp. Dr. Smith, however, allowed Will and the Robot to escape without incident. Will went to the drill site and brought several explosives back to the camp.

Dr. Smith had made cherubic angels and had attached them to the arch. Will made a duplicate out of plastic explosives and replaced Dr. Smith's with his own. He told his father about what he had done and John completed his planning with Don. There was nothing else to do but wait for dawn.

As Will, John and Don lay on the ground, trying to get a bit of sleep, Don wondered aloud, "Do you think the girls will be okay?"

"I'm sure they're being well taken care of, Don," John replied.

"It's not that… are they falling for the brainwashing?"

"Worried about Judy's feelings for you changing?"

Don answered too quickly. "No!" Then he glanced away and mumbled, "Maybe… a little…"

"I don't think you have anything to worry about, Don."

"I hope so…"

* * *

Niolani was ready for the grand arrival of her people and instructed Dr. Smith to have Will, John and Don stand in line as an honor guard. As he was doing so, he noticed that something was wrong with one of his statues and he removed it to repair it. Will caught Dr. Smith just as he was about to hit the explosive cherub with a mallet. Will convinced him to return the explosive statue to the arch so it could be destroyed. The plan worked perfectly and the colonists threw their space ship into reverse as soon as the explosion occurred.

The family was together again and Judy looked into Don's face as he approached her to reassure herself that he was, indeed, fine. Niolani was desolate**. "Defeated by mere males. Oh, I shall be court-martialed. Sentenced to a lifetime of degrading drudgery – cooking, cleaning, laundry…"** Judy reached out to Don as he caught her eye. Niolani continued, **"Squalling, sniveling children. You have defeated me. You are free now. It is I who am captive."**

Maureen attempted to soothe her. **"Well, it isn't a defeat to acknowledge that men are just as good as women. Why, equality of the sexes has advantages you may have overlooked."**

"**I must tell my people about that. Perhaps they will listen."** Will handed her scepter back to her. **"Thank you, male child."** Then she disappeared.

"**Well, do you still think the male is nothing and the female is everything?" **Will asked Penny.

"**I never said any such thing!"** Penny replied.

"**Oh, yes, you did!"**

"**No, I didn't."**

"**Oh, come on now. Isn't it about time that you two retire this battle?"** Maureen asked.

"What battle?" Penny asked.

"Battle of the sexes," Judy answered. "After all, weren't you the one who reprimanded me for being with Don?"

"That was breaking the rules. I was only trying to keep you out of trouble," Penny stated.

"And somebody should have told 'Noble Niolani' that raising children is probably the most noble thing she could do," Don told Penny.

Judy smiled at his statement. "By the way, Don," she said, "Penny was wondering if we women could learn to fly the _Jupiter_?"

Don's eyebrows shot up. "Well, sure you could. In fact I think it's a good idea. It's kind of like driving a car."

Judy glanced at Penny as she asked Don, "Aren't you afraid we won't need you anymore?"

"I hope you need me for more than flying the _Jupiter_…" He blushed just a tad… "Especially you…"

"Of course I do… it's human nature," Judy replied.

Maureen interrupted, "Come on, Penny, Will… I think it's time to go back to our own camp now."

Don and Judy fell behind the rest and Don reached out for her hand. "So, uh, what were some of those 'vices' that we men are supposed to have?"

"Oh, that your brains are ruled by your bodies," Judy stated, "and that limits your intellectual potential."

"Well, that's partly true," Don replied, "but only when we're near the women we love…" They stopped walking and faced each other. He placed his hand on her cheek. "…Like right now." He leaned his face down and Judy turned her lips towards his until they met. Judy reached her arms around his neck and Don drew her close. When they came up for air, Dom murmured, "You _didn't_ fall for her brainwashing."

Judy smiled and shook her head. "Uh-uh. I'm happy with what I have… even if you are 'the arrogant one.'"

* * *

The process for replacing the transisteroids and upgrading the electrical system was just about complete. All that was left to be done was to lay in the relays and gradually return to full power, a job that John had delegated to Dr. Smith. Don was hesitant to let Smith have that responsibility, so he asked him to repeat his instructions. Smith insisted that he knew the steps. **"As I have said many times in the past – Never fear, Smith is here," **Smith stated.

"**Oh, I know this is a mistake,"** Don murmured, and then went on to explain the process one last time before re-entering the Jupiter. **"When you see the yellow light go on, hit the blue button. Then wait two seconds and hit the black button. Then wait three seconds and hit the green."**

"**Child's play," **Smith retorted.

"**That's why we picked you to do it,"** Don said than then re-entered the _Jupiter_.

"**Bah! Huh, nothing to it at all."** As Smith repeated the directions several times to himself, he became totally confused and, when the yellow light came on, hit the green button and there was an explosion inside the ship! He then hit the blue and there was a second explosion.

Maureen forced Dr. Smith inside the hatch with her and found the room full of smoke, Don lying unconscious on the floor and John trying to stay away from a high voltage cable that was slithering like a drunken snake on the floor…

* * *

**TripThrough the Robot** (Written by Barney Slater)

John finally pulled the cable out of the ceiling and then he and Maureen went to help Don up. **"Easy fella. That's a nasty crack you took there,"** John said.

"**Oh, I feel just great – like I got hit by a truck,"** Don replied as he stood up. He surveyed the room and added, **"Oh, what mess!"** Don was furious with Dr. Smith, yet again, and went to have it out with him, but John convinced him to save his energy. Dr. Smith, of course, put the blame on anyone and everyone, but himself. The family then went in to clean up the mess.

Maureen wanted to check Don, but he insisted that he was fine. "Look, Maureen, I've survived plenty of knocks on the head. This one is no different," he stated.

Judy stood beside him, rolling her eyes at his stubbornness. "Don… stop being so stubborn. Let her look at you."

"Look, I know the routine! Just do your hourly checks on me for the next twenty-four hours. I'll be fine!"

"There is no use arguing with him, Mother."

"Oh… go on… go help John," Maureen told him.

He smiled and scooted away. Judy crossed her arms and shook her head. "It's a good thing he has a hard head…"

* * *

Don lamented that Dr. Smith should have been doing the work, but John retorted that, **"If the good doctor so much as touches it, it'll never work again."** Will then came into camp with the Robot dragging himself behind him. The Robot needed to be recharged, but Don told Will that charging the Robot could burn out the auxiliary power unit, and John insisted that they couldn't take that chance. Will didn't think his father was being fair and worried that the Robot could die if he wasn't recharged, but the Robot agreed with the men and left camp alone. Will gave one last, forlorn look at the retreating robot and entered the Jupiter.

Moments later, Judy came out to check on Don. She touched his elbow and said, "Okay, let me take a look at your eyes." Don didn't even look at her and replied that he was fine. "Don…" she repeated.

He sighed. After turning to face her he opened his eyes wide and said, "See… they still work…"

She smiled and shook her head. "What has Will so upset? He was almost crying when he walked past me."

"Oh, it's the Robot. It needs to be recharged, and we just can't spare the power to do it," Don replied.

"What will happen to the Robot?" Judy asked.

"It's power will drain and we might not be able to get it charged again," John stated.

"Dad, no! Can't we give him a little bit of power?"

"I'm afraid it's all or nothing, Judy. Let's just hope we get the system going again before he totally loses all of his power."

Don rubbed his neck. "Let's get back to work."

* * *

The family sat around a candlelit table for dinner that evening. No one, except Dr. Smith had much of an appetite. They were all worried about the Robot and Dr. Smith reminded them that it was just a machine. **"You're the only one who feels that way about him,"** Maureen stated.

Penny brought out her tape recorder to let the family listen to a message that the Robot had left on it. For the sake of his dear friends, he had left camp forever.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

There we were sitting around a candlelit table, but it wasn't a romantic setting at all. Dr. Smith's ineptitude caused another crisis. He burned out our power system. Our poor Robot needs to be recharged, but until Dad and Don get the power unit running again, we can't risk feeding it any power. We might not be able to revive him if he totally runs down. I hope that doesn't happen, Joan. He's become part of the family.

Oh, and Don has another concussion. I have to go and check on him soon. He's been all right since this morning, and he's only had a slight headache (or so he says), so he's probably fine. The usual routine of staying in his room just doesn't seem to be the right thing to do tonight. We're both worried about the Robot, so we really are not in the mood for any kind of romance…

Not only that, I'm mad at him for how he wanted to treat Dr. Smith and I haven't talked to him about it yet. After he woke up from being knocked unconscious today, he came out of the Jupiter and started pulling up his sleeves. Then he told Mom to take the kids inside because they were, and I quote, **'too young to see what he was going to do'** to poor Dr. Smith. Oh, I know the explosion and Don's concussion were both Dr. Smith's fault, but Don is twenty years younger than Dr. Smith! What makes him think it's ok to threaten him with bodily harm? It's not like Dr. Smith caused the damage on purpose. He is just incompetent. I'm going to have to talk to him about it sooner or later, though because it is really bothering me."

* * *

During breakfast, John was discussing with Maureen why he couldn't allow the Robot to be recharged. Don joined them and picked up on the conversation. **"Listen, you don't have to justify your actions to me. I agree with you,"** he said, **"but then again, I'm not a twelve year old boy who's very fond of a robot."**

John was feeling guilty enough as it was and replied, **"Oh, thanks a lot."**

"**Coffee?"** Maureen asked Don. He nodded. "You seem much better today. No effects from that explosion yesterday?"

"No and I finally convinced Judy that she didn't need to check on me over-night so that we could both get some sleep. I think that helped."

Judy came out of the ship and commented to Don. "Well, I see you're not in a coma, Don."

He didn't take her bait. "Amazing what a little bit of uninterrupted sleep can do."

Penny sauntered down the ramp. "Will and Dr. Smith aren't here?" she asked.

"They must still be sleeping," Maureen stated.

"No, Mom, they're not. I think they went off together to look for the Robot."

"Oh, no… Do you think they'll find him, John?"

"I have no idea," John replied, "but they better get back here on their own because we don't have time to go search for them."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be back soon. Dr. Smith never misses a meal."

Sometime later, Maureen approached John, still worried, and John and Don decided to leave their work and look for the errant troublemakers…

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Our Robot ended up in the Valley of Shadows and grew to a huge size. Dr. Smith said that he was as big as a house! He and Will went inside the Robot to reverse his ionic process. Dad and Don went in after them. Will did the repairs, but then the Robot started to shrink. Thank goodness they all got out of the Robot before it totally shrunk back to its normal size, but Don said that Will barely made it.

Don was furious with Dr. Smith again. Not only did Dr. Smith refuse to help him when he got stuck, but Dr. Smith also told Dad that Will had gotten out of the Robot when he was still in there. Don told me that Dr. Smith got stuck just before the exit hole and he wanted to leave him inside the Robot. He would have been crushed to death, Joan. What a horrible fate. I can't believe Don would have done that! Now, that's two things that I have to talk with him about.

Well, at least the Robot is back to normal. We gave him power from the chariot's battery. I'm not back to normal with Don, yet. I'm going to find some time to talk with him as soon as the electrical system is back up and running."

* * *

It was a few days before Judy had an opportunity to speak with Don about her concerns. He was working underneath the chariot when she tapped his foot to come out and talk with her. "Can't it wait, Judy?" he asked.

Judy sighed in frustration. "Don… we haven't had a chance to talk in days."

He slid out and sat up. Judy tossed him a rag and he wiped his hands. He had been so busy with the electrical system, he hadn't noticed that she had been somewhat distant, and he had no idea that something was bothering her. "So… what do you want to talk with me about?" he asked.

She was trying to think of a way to start that wouldn't make him angry. "I want to talk to you about something that has been bothering me for the last few days."

"Something I did?"

She nodded.

"This isn't about Smith, is it?"

"Well…"

"Damn it, Judy!" He threw the rag aside in anger.

"That's exactly what I want to talk to you about – your temper."

"If this is about wanting to leave him…"

"Yes! That and when you threatened to beat him up. He's an old man, Don!"

"Old man? Judy, the man is a menace. He didn't think twice about leaving me to be crushed to death – or even Will for that matter! Why wouldn't I be justified in leaving him behind?"

"No one is justified in leaving someone to die!"

"Oh, but _he_ is…"

"I didn't say he was – we're talking about _you_, not him."

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe _he's_ the one you should be talking to? If he didn't pull _half_ the stupid crap he does…"

"_He's_ not the man I want to marry – _you_ are!"

On any other day, that pronouncement would have made him feel exuberant, but not today. He stood and brushed himself off. "Are you sure about that?"

Judy's cheeks flushed. "Not if you're going to continue to threaten people. I want my husband to be as respectful of human life as _I_ am."

"We're not talkin' about _people_, here, Judy… we're talkin' about _Smith_…"

Judy folded her arms. She wasn't going to let him get away with that comment. "The last time I looked… Dr. Smith _was_ 'people.'" She turned and stomped away from him, leaving him to ponder her words.

* * *

The camp was in Don's hands since John and Maureen had gone off to observe a volcano, and he knew that it was a much-needed mini vacation for the two of them. He was glad that _they_ were getting some romance in their lives. He and Judy were being civil to each other, but that was about it. He knew that she had a point about Smith being 'people,' but he was too stubborn to acknowledge that to her. If he had had his way in the beginning, Smith would have been given a trial and executed for his crimes. That would be what would have happened on Earth, or he at least would have been given life in prison. Judy, he knew, was against capital punishment. In general he was too, but not when the perpetrator was caught red handed. Smith had tried so many times to kill them – either accidentally or on purpose – that threatening him with physical harm had become an automatic reaction for him.

Penny, Judy, Don, Dr. Smith and Will now lay on the deck of the Jupiter… waiting for a barrage of electrical explosions to hit them for the third night in a row. Judy stayed close to Penny and made sure that she was far enough away from Don to let him know that she was still perturbed with him. Dr. Smith had his ears covered and asked when it would start. Will noted that it was now an hour past the time that the barrage had started on the first night, and thirty minutes later than it had started on the second. Dr. Smith complained that no one was answering him and Don angrily pulled his hands away from his ears so he could hear. **"I'm hit!"** Dr. Smith exclaimed.

Don curled his fist and told him, **"You** **will be with this if you don't simmer down."**

Then the barrage started and they covered their heads with their arms. Judy put her arm around Penny. Don looked over at Judy and was tempted to reach out to her, but thought better of it. After the barrage was done, however, he helped her up by the elbow.

"**All right. It's over for tonight,"** Don stated.

"**If we only knew why they were attacking or who they are or what they want,"** Judy said.

"…**My only guess is that they're using some kind of a softening up process,"** Don replied.

"**Yeah, but for what reason?"** Will asked.

"**To render us helpless and impose their will on us,"** Dr. Smith answered. He went on to explain that it was a cardinal principle of von Clausewitz's philosophy of war.

Don told the children to check out the controls and then he turned to Dr. Smith and said, **"…As for you, Clausewitz, let's go out and see if we can get that force field energizer back on its feet."**

Dr. Smith followed him murmuring, **"Something dire is afoot. I know it."**

Once outside, Don checked out the force field unit and declared that it seemed to be all right, adding, **"At least it'll keep whoever they are from getting too close to us."**

Dr. Smith was wary and stated, **"They're much too close for comfort now. In fact, I–"**

"**You what?"** Don asked.

"**Nothing. It's nothing,"** Dr. Smith replied. Don left him standing there. A rock wall opened after Don left and a red humanoid alien pointed a long cannon like object at him. He held a large red ball in his hands and squeezed it, and Dr. Smith took on the electrical signature of a negative photograph…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	12. Phantom Familiy & Mechanical Men

_Last week, as you recall, the Robinson men and women were taken captive by a woman of the Kondor nation who needed to prepare the planet for the settlement of a colony of female warriors. The men were enslaved and put to work in building a purifying arch. The women, however, were not prisoners, but were given an extensive education of the superiority of the female over the male. The males were able to destroy the arch and thwart the planned colony. While repairing the electrical system of the Jupiter, the Robinson camp was left with no power, thanks to the inept help of Dr. Smith. The Robot, his power draining and no power to recharge him, left the camp and grew to an enormous size. Will and Dr. Smith were able to save the Robot and he was back to normal. Now, with Professor and Mrs. Robinson away from camp for an excursion to a volcano, the Jupiter was under a barrage of firepower. An alien was planning to take over the camp, and aimed an electronic device shooting Dr. Smith with electrical energy…_

**The Phantom Family** (Written by **Peter Packer**)

As Don checked the systems, he heard Dr. Smith scream. When Don came out, Dr. Smith was stiff and silent. A wrist-watch like device was attached to his arm. **"Smith, you all right? It looks like you're an extra target of opportunity for that barrage that's been hitting us." **Dr. Smith said nothing and walked mechanically into the _Jupiter_.

Penny and Judy walked by Dr. Smith as he entered the ship. Penny asked Don if Dr. Smith was hurt, and Don replied that he didn't think so. **"Oh, poor Dr. Smith,"** Judy stated, **"He's the first one they softened up, I guess."**

Don sighed and thought,_ 'Poor Dr. Smith… again…'_He kept that thought to himself and said, **"Yeah. Well, whatever it is they're softening us up for, we're letting them know it isn't going to work. First thing tomorrow we start straightening things up around here."** He glanced at the girls and went into the ship.

Judy turned to Penny and said, **"Well, I hope they get the message."** They walked up the ramp and Don closed the hatch. "Will?" Judy called. "It's time to get ready for bed."

Will came up the ladder and was already in his pajamas. "Did any of you notice anything weird about Dr. Smith?" he asked.

"Why do you ask?" Judy replied.

"He walked into the ship like he didn't know where he was. I asked him if he was okay and he didn't say anything. He just looked around like he was lost or something."

"We think he's been upset by the bombings, Will. I hope he'll be okay."

"I'm sure once he gets some food and sleep, he'll be fine," Don said. "Where is he, raiding the galley?"

"No," Will replied. "I brought him to the elevator and into his room. It was like he was shell-shocked. He just stood there, so I closed the door behind him and got ready for bed."

"Maybe he's developing Post Traumatic Stress?" Judy asked.

"More like Post Traumatic Laziness. We have a lot to do tomorrow to get the camp back in shape. You kids need to get your rest," Don ordered.

"I _am _tired. Good-night," Penny said, and she went to the elevator.

"I was just going to get some milk. Is that ok?" Will asked.

"Of course," Judy answered. "Go ahead. I'll be down in a little while."

"Don't stay up too late," Penny teased them before she pressed the button to go down. "Remember we have a lot of work to do tomorrow!"

Don and Judy watched them retreat to the lower level, and then Don turned and checked the systems one last time. Judy crossed her arms and walked up to him. "So… are you still angry with me?"

Don glanced at her, but didn't stop what he was doing. "What makes you think I'm angry?"

"You've barely spoken to me the last few days," she said.

"Well, as I recall, you're the one who walked away from our last conversation…"

"When I told you I wanted to marry you…"

Don froze. She _had_ said that. "Despite my disregard for human life?" he asked.

He still hadn't looked at her. Judy shook her head and stared at the floor. "Oh… you're not angry… You're _furious_ with me."

He turned to her, ready to do battle. "I don't appreciate being called… a… a barbarian by the woman I love!"

"I never called you a barbarian!"

"No, but you implied it…"

"I don't understand why you can take such good care of us, yet treat Dr. Smith so poorly!"

"He brings it on himself, Judy."

"I agree that he's a problem – a major problem – but that doesn't mean he's worthless, Don. He is still a human being and should be treated like one."

"If he would treat the rest of us half as well as he treats himself, maybe I would!" Don had had enough. "Turn out the lights when you come down. I'm going to bed." He stomped to the ladder and scurried down.

Judy fumed for a few more moments and wiped a tear from her eye. _'Why is it so difficult for us?' _she asked herself.

* * *

While the Robot, Penny, Judy and Don were cleaning up camp, Will had run over to relay station number two and left a message for his parents. **"Dad, when you play this back, I think you'd better return to camp. Everyone's okay so far, but for the last three nights we've been hit by some kind of electronic barrage. Don's taking good care of us, but I kind of feel that we need you and Mom here too…"**

After Will shut down the relay station, the rock wall near the Jupiter opened up, and the red alien with the round ball pointed a long cannon type of device at the camp. Don was working on the force field unit, and the girls were nearby working in the garden. The alien pressed the ball and a thunderclap was heard. Don immediately turned to the girls as they screamed. He ran to them and put his arms around both of them, leading them back to the ship, but before they could make it, an invisible electronic beam shot towards them and they absorbed its negative energy, just as Dr. Smith had done the night before. The three of them fell to the ground, and the same band Dr. Smith wore appeared on their wrists. Then the alien walked into camp wearing a mechanical device around his neck. First Judy, then Don, then Penny appeared next to him.

The force of the electronic energy reached the relay station and Will collapsed on a rock, unconscious, but he was not in range of the beam. When he returned to camp, he found nothing unusual. Don continued to work on the force field unit and Penny was doing laundry. Will spoke to Penny, but she never answered him. Then he went to Don and said, **"You know, Don, I was sure that the barrage hit in this area, but before I could do anything, I got knocked out. Hey, you're not even listening to me, just like Penny. Oh, I know what it is. I shouldn't have gone to the transmission station without asking permission. Well, I'm sorry. I guess I do deserve the silent treatment for a little while."** Will sighed and went into the ship.

After Will left, Don stood up stiffly and his wrist band whirred. He spoke into it and said, **"It is their force field energizer."**

Will found Judy in the galley stirring something in a large bowl. She didn't acknowledge him when he entered and greeted her. **"I guess you're giving me the silent treatment too," **he said. **"Oh, please, say something to me, Judy. Gosh, you're acting like you don't even know who I am. I told Don I was sorry."** She didn't reply, so he said, **"Let's forget it. I'm hungry. What's for dinner?"** Will hit the buttons and a large pot came out on the conveyor belt. **"Smells like chicken,"** he said as he reached to lift the lid off the pot, but dropped it in pain. **"Ow! It's hot!"** he exclaimed. Judy robotically reached out and lifted the pot with her hand. **"Holy cow! Didn't that burn your fingers?"** he asked her, but she didn't react. Will took a fork and brought out a blackened piece of chicken. **"I hope you don't expect me to eat this,"** he told her.

"**When food is prepared it must be eaten,"** Judy stated without looking at him and returned to her stirring.

"**This must be some kind of a joke. Sure, that's what it is, a joke. Yeah. Penny acting kooky, then Don giving me the business, and now you. Well, I didn't do anything that bad."** He looked at the chicken and added, **"Anyway, nothing's bad enough to deserve this."**

"**You talk a great deal for one so young."**

"**Yeah? Well, if you don't like it maybe I just won't talk at all till you're ready to come around."** He walked away from Judy and ran into Dr. Smith. He called to him and said, **"Maybe you can tell me what this is all about."** Dr. Smith clicked his tongue and Will said, **"I've had enough of this. I'll come back when the joke's over."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Penny, Don, Dr. Smith and I were frozen… by an alien. Will was the only one who escaped the alien's grip. Even the Robot was disabled when he was attacked by an electrical charge. Will said that we were duplicated as humanoids. The alien, who was named **Lemnoc**, told Will that his people were dying out because they had lost the will to survive. He observed us to be strong survivors, so he planned to send our duplicates to his planet as models of survival, I guess.

Will tried to get the alien to let us out, but he couldn't because, if the duplicates faced us, they would be turned to cosmic dust. The alien made a deal with Will that, if he taught the humanoids how to act exactly like us within twenty-four hours, he would let us go. If Will wasn't successful, we would have died! We couldn't live longer than twenty-four hours in the freezing tubes. At least the alien repaired the Robot so that it could help Will. They must have done a good job because our duplicates were sent to Lemnoc's planet, well, all of them except Dr. Smith's. Dr. Smith is still frozen and Dad and Don have gone to Lemnoc to try to get him back."

* * *

After returning to the _Jupiter_ without Dr. Smith, who was still in cryogenic suspension, John informed Will that Lemnoc would free Dr. Smith in return for the Jupiter, which would be flown to his planet by Dr. Smith's duplicate as a symbol of survival. John could not agree to those terms. **"So you see, son, it was a question of our survival or Smith's. There was nothing we could do. Come on. Let's turn in."**

"**I think I'll stay out here for a while, Dad," **Will said.

"**All right. Don't be too long, though."**

* * *

When the adults reentered the_ Jupiter_, Don glanced at Judy, but didn't say a word as he put their weapons away. Judy watched him retreat down the ladder and didn't try to follow him. "Is everything okay, Judy?" John asked.

"Everything's fine," Judy replied as she crossed her arms and looked away.

"You know, I could use a cup of coffee. Let's go outside and catch up on what went on while we were away," Maureen suggested.

Coffee was ready in five minutes and Maureen, Judy and Penny sat down to have a snack and John soon followed. "Isn't Don going to join us?" John asked.

"I… I don't think so, Dad," Judy said.

"Judy, are you and Don all right?"

She sighed. "Oh, we're… we're…" She gripped her cup, not knowing what to say.

"Judy… Did something happen while we were away?" Maureen asked.

"No…"

"They had a fight, Mom," Penny explained. "Judy was mad at Don again, you know, about how he treats Dr. Smith, and then Don got mad at Judy for being mad at him…"

"… And Don's been acting like a jerk," Don said as he came up behind them.

"Aren't you the one who told Lemnoc that we still wanted Dr. Smith back?" John asked him.

He shrugged. "Speaking of Smith, the duplicate Smith isn't downstairs," Don said.

"Maybe he's with Will?"

"No, I checked and Will was alone in his room."

"Go get him, Don. Smith's duplicate might be up to something. We've got to find him," John stated.

Will came to the table with Don and his father asked him about Smith's duplicate.

"**I don't know where he is, Dad. We had a quarrel and I insulted him. It doesn't matter now, does it?"** Will asked.

Dr. Smith then came sauntering into camp singing, **"I've been working on the railroad. Ah, my dear friends, how glad I am to see you,"** Dr. Smith stated. **"Now, please excuse me. I must be off about my business."**

Will grabbed his wrist to hold him back. **"Wait a minute,"** he said.

"**What are you doing?"** Dr. Smith asked.

"**It's Dr. Smith, all right,"** Will announced.

"**Are you sure?"** Maureen asked while John and Don stood smiling behind her.

"**Of course, I'm Dr. Smith. Who did you think I was, some sort of unreasonable facsimile?"** Dr. Smith stated.

"**Well it could happen,"** Maureen said.

"**Yes, but for once, I must say, we're all delighted to see you,"** John told Dr. Smith.

"**Indeed, and so you should be,"** Dr. Smith pompously stated.

The Robot said what was probably on Don's mind. **"There have been moments when I prefer the other Dr. Smith. He was nice and polite."**

John looked at Judy as the Robot spoke, hoping she saw that Don wasn't the only one with mixed feelings for Dr. Smith.

Dr. Smith was indignant and said, **"Other Dr. Smith? Well, that's impossible, you ludicrous lump. There can only be one Dr. Zachary Smith, and I am he. **I seem to have caught a bit of a chill tonight. A warm shower and cup of soup would do nicely." He bowed to Maureen. That statement garnered a chuckle from the rest of the group. "Now I must be off. Madam?"

"Yes, Dr. Smith," Maureen condescendingly stated, "I'll make you some soup while you shower." Will followed Dr. Smith inside, telling him about what had happened while he had been frozen. Maureen picked up the coffee pot. "Come on, girls, it's time for bed," she said.

"I'm not quite ready, yet, mother. I'll clean up. You go ahead and make Dr. Smith's soup," Judy suggested.

"Thank you, Judy."

"I'll help you with that soup," John stated as he followed Penny and Maureen inside the _Jupiter_.

Don stood with his hands in his back pockets and watched them leave. "I guess that's our cue," he said.

"Our cue?" Judy asked.

"Yeah – our, uh, cue to talk."

"Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"Sure," he replied and he sat across from her. "Thanks."

"I promise not to walk away this time, Don."

Don didn't reply to that. He sipped at his coffee and wasn't sure where to start because nothing had really changed.

"Did you really say that you wanted Dr. Smith back?" Judy asked him.

"Yeah… I did."

"But… Don… why didn't you free him from the cryogenic tube when Lemnoc released us?"

"Because only Lemnoc could work the controls with that device that hung around his neck."

"How did you know that? You didn't even try."

Don felt the warmth of his cup. Did she still have so little faith in him? "Judy, Lemnoc had let me out of the tube earlier. He knew I was the pilot and offered me a deal. He'd give me my freedom if I would teach his people how to fly the _Jupiter_, but he wouldn't agree to free you and Penny. He couldn't believe it, but I told him that I couldn't accept the deal on his terms."

"So you didn't take the deal because of us?"

Don reached across the table and took her hand. "Judy… I couldn't… I couldn't live with myself if I had… I wouldn't have wanted to survive without you."

She stood and walked around the table to him. He took her into his lap and held her. Her lips found his… "You know, this is the first kiss we've had since Dr. Smith destroyed the electrical system."

"Yeah… it has been awhile hasn't it? I think I need to put my head aside and start thinking with… my other brain…" He kissed her again.

Judy giggled. "I think your 'other' brain is working _too _well…"

"That's what happens when we don't get interrupted every two seconds." He reached for her lips one more time when John called from the hatch. "Don, Judy… time to close up the hatch…"

Don almost cursed under his breath. "You go ahead, Judy… I need to give my 'other' brain some time to, uh, cool off…"

"All right." Before she stood, she held his face in her hands. She wanted to tell him how much she loved him, but a second call from her father stopped her. She kissed him quickly and hopped off his lap, gathering the cups and coffee pot.

"Tell your father that I'll lock up," he said. She nodded, gave him one last longing look, and then went inside.

* * *

The next day, Dr. Smith was working on an elaborate chemistry experiment. He had a table set up with beakers and flasks and Bunsen burners. Penny bounced out of the ship, Don and her father behind her.

"**How is your experiment coming along, Dr. Smith?"** Penny asked.

"**Quite nicely, my dear. Success is almost within my grasp," **he replied.

Don picked up a bottle of formula. **"What are you trying to make here, Doctor,"** he asked as he smelled the liquid, **"a new kind of chicken soup?"**

"**Spare me the feeble jokes, Major. They are typical of your crude humor. However, if you must know, I have invented a new type of rocket fuel for the **_**Jupiter 2**_**."**

"**Really?"** John said. **"Well, we could sure use it, but without deutronium it can't work. And we don't have any."**

"**There is enough deutronium here to get us to Earth and back, if necessary."**

"**I've never seen it in liquid form before."**

"**A scientific breakthrough of my own, Professor."**

"**Discovered with the help of his brilliant assistant,"** the Robot added.

"**Silence, you bungler. Yes. I have accomplished the impossible. I have discovered a way to get us off this unhappy and unhealthy planet."**

Don couldn't take much more of his pronouncements. **"Dr. Smith, uh, before we go placing a laurel wreath upon your noble brow – I've got a question."**

"**You always have, Major."**

"**Well, we've been trying for months to get off of this planet. Why didn't you dream up this rocket fuel before?"**

"**The answer is quite simple. I had not yet reached the depths of despair. When a man is driven to the limits of his endurance he must act or perish."**

"**When will your experiment be completed, Dr. Smith?" **Penny asked.

"**One final, simple step, and I am ready."**

Don couldn't keep his mouth closed. **"This I've got to see."**

"**Now then, we are ready to test our new fuel formula. I will add the liquid deutronium to this engine."** Dr. Smith poured the liquid in and… nothing happened…

"**Well, it seems that your experiment isn't working, Doctor,"** John commented. Dr. Smith poured the rest of the liquid into the container…

Penny's eyes grew wide with fear. **"Look!"** she exclaimed. Dark smoke poured out of the engine.

The Robot announced, **"Warning! Extreme danger! Explosion imminent!"**

"**No, it can't be!"** Dr. Smith screamed.

"**Everybody, run!"** John shouted.

* * *

**The Mechanical Men** (Written by **Barney Slater**)

As John, Penny and Don picked themselves up and brushed the sand off their clothes, John admonished him, **"You could have killed us all."** Dr. Smith apologized and defended himself, saying that he surely was not responsible for the explosion and that a minor change in the formula was all that was needed. Dr. Smith left their presence in a huff, mumbling to himself about how his genius was not appreciated. Exhausted, he lay down on the ground for a brief nap. When he awoke, he was chained to a palate and surrounded by tiny replicas of the Robot.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Well, Dr. Smith has done it again. He caused an explosion when he was trying to develop a new type of rocket fuel. Dad was furious with him, so Dr. Smith left and is staying away from camp… Mom said he's like a spoiled child. Dad and Don went out to look for him and they said that he was following them, but wouldn't come when they called him. Then the force field unit exploded. Then it was the weather station. Don insisted that Dr. Smith must have damaged both to prove a point, but I'm not so sure…"

* * *

As Maureen and Judy was setting the table for lunch, Judy felt as if they were being watched and Maureen agreed, but shook off their fears. As they called the family to lunch, Judy spotted a parade of… **"Little mechanical men!"**

As the family came out of the Jupiter, a purple mechanical man approached on a moving pedestal.

The purple leader explained that they were from the planet Industro. **"You have a mechanical man in your possession. You will release him from bondage."** It did not accept John's explanation that the Robot was not a slave. **"For ten thousand years, the mechanical men have know that someday a great warrior would appear to lead them to power and glory. That time has now arrived."**

John was not about to give up the Robot to them, but the mechanical men proved their powers. One of the many mechanical men came forward holding a small, black briefcase type of apparatus and tossed it at a tree. It exploded and cut the tree in half. The purple robot also warned them that he held Dr. Smith as a prisoner and that he would not be returned until the Robot was released to them. Don summarized, **"They'll return Smith, but we give up the Robot. Personally, I think we're getting the worst of the deal."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

We've lost our Robot. We were visited by hundreds of little mechanical men holding bombs and they demanded that our Robot join them as their leader. He decided that he had to follow his destiny and be with his own kind. He hoped he could be a good leader for them. It turns out that he was too just and compassionate for them, so they switched his personality with Dr. Smith's! Dr. Smith came back talking and acting like the Robot in his own body, while our robot had Dr. Smith's voice and bad character traits. That was the kind of leader they wanted.

Don, though, has been taking advantage of the situation and working poor Dr. Smith's body to death! I tried to talk to him about it, but he wouldn't listen. He insisted that working wouldn't hurt Dr. Smith at all, and he kept saying, _**'and think of the pleasure I'll get.'**_Oh, I just get so angry at him when he acts so callous towards Dr. Smith. The poor man! His back will never recover."

* * *

John held a family meeting to discuss their latest predicament. He had been given an ultimatum by the Smith-like Robot. Give up the Jupiter peaceably, or be invaded by thousands of little mechanical men carrying perilous bombs. The Jupiter was needed for the Smith-Robot leader to voyage to their planet of **Industro**. John didn't think they had any choice. The family supported his decision and prepared to take essential components out of the Jupiter so that they could establish a life-long camp.

Penny lamented, **"You know, I never would've believed our own Robot would turn against us."**

"**He's not really our robot now, Penny,"** Don stated. **"I don't know what he is."**

"**Probably just a combination of all the base instincts hidden in Smith's subconscious mind," **John theorized.

After they scattered to attend to their duties, Don approached Judy. "Are you still thinking, _'Poor Dr. Smith'_ now?"

"Oh, Don, you know he was forced into this. It wasn't his fault," she replied.

"What is it with you and Smith? Why can't you see past his 'poor me' attitude?"

"…Maybe for the same reason that you can't see past his faults. He's really not a bad person, Don."

"Sure… he's just becoming another Sadam Hussein… I'd like to hear your opinion after we run out of fuel for the heating units…" He stomped off.

She fumed inside. "I hate it when you're so arrogant!" she called after him.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Well, we survived our latest crisis. The mechanical men actually attacked us, but Dad shot the Robot with his laser rifle and Dr. Smith collapsed. The mechanical men retreated. I guess without their leader, they couldn't carry on with their plan. Somehow, Dr. Smith and the Robot returned to normal. When I went outside I overheard Dad say that he wouldn't have Dr. Smith any other way than his old, mean, cunning, conniving self… and Don agreed with him! Maybe he's not so arrogant after all."

* * *

Don walked up behind Judy as she was talking into her tape recorder. She turned in surprise as he said, "Yesterday I'm arrogant and today I'm not? Man, that Niolani character really confused you…"

"Come on, Don, this has nothing to do with Niolani. You redeemed yourself when you said that you like Dr. Smith just the way he is," she replied.

He rolled his eyes. "So your feelings for me depend how I'm feeling about Smith? We're in for one rocky relationship."

She turned away from him and tucked her microphone back into it's compartment on the tape recorder. "It already has been rocky."

Don looked up at the sky. "It doesn't have to be, you know." He waited for her reaction, but none came. He was ready to walk away when she turned to him again.

"Don… I…" She stopped.

"You… what?"

"I… I love you no matter how you feel about Smith… It's just… I just wish you weren't so hard on him."

He took a step closer to her. "You… love me?"

"Of course... You know that."

He bit his lower lip. "Well… I thought I knew it… but you never said it before."

"Of course I did."

"When?" he challenged her.

"I, uh… well, when… well, maybe not in those exact words…" she stammered.

He leaned in and closed the distance between their lips. "You love me," he whispered and then touched his lips to hers. Her arms went around his neck and he drew her into an embrace.

Someone cleared his or her throat at the hatch before descending. Don and Judy broke apart to find John walking down the ramp with Maureen next to him. "I'll only be away a couple of days at the relay station, Don. I'd like you and Will to keep working the mining operations."

"Sure, John… no problem…" he replied.

John gave Judy a hug and whispered in her ear. "Now, don't distract him too much."

"Oh, Daddy," she replied.

John gave Will and Penny their last hugs and gave his wife a good-bye kiss. He climbed into the chariot and was on his way.

Don turned to Will. "How about if you and Dr. Smith take drill site number two and I'll take three."

Judy took his arm. "Would you like me to come along and help?"

He grinned and took her hand. "Let's go."

* * *

Judy and Don were working at the drill site when a thunderclap was heard overhead. They cleaned up the area and went to get Will and Dr. Smith to return to the ship. He didn't want any of them caught outside during an electric storm, however, Will and Dr. Smith had taken shelter in a cave. The Robot waited for them outside as the storm caused an avalanche of rocks to close up the opening…

* * *

To be continued…

NEXT WEEK!

SAME TIME…

SAME WEBSITE…


	13. Astral Traveler & Galaxy Gift

_Last week, as you recall, Don, Judy, Penny and Dr. Smith were suspended in a cryogenic freeze while their duplicates were trained to take on the qualities of their counterparts by Will and the Robot. Dr. Smith was the last to be released from his cryogenic sleep when his counterpart sacrificed himself so that Will could once again be with his friend. Then the family was invaded by an army of miniature mechanical men who wanted the Robot to become their leader. They were not happy with his just ways, however, and switched Dr. Smith's personality with the Robot's. John was able to thwart the mechanical men's attempt to take over the Jupiter by shooting the Robot resulting in Dr. Smith returning to normal. Now Will and Dr. Smith have been entombed in a cave during a dangerous electric storm…_

**The Astral Traveler**(Written by **Carey Wilber**)

Two burning torches appeared out of nowhere to light the cave in which Will and Dr. Smith were trapped. Dr. Smith was sure they were doomed, but Will was just as sure that the Robot would get help for them. Will left Dr. Smith to explore a passageway to see if it led to another way out of the cave. He found an entrance, which was like the revolving door to a high-class hotel. He walked through the door and it disappeared, to be replaced with nothing but rock.

Judy and Don returned to the ship to find the Robot stammering to Maureen that Will and Dr. Smith were trapped in a cave. When Don, Judy and Maureen broke through the rocks, they found Dr. Smith alone in the cavern. Don finally got Dr. Smith to point in the direction that Will had gone, but all they found was a wall of rock.

"**Don, what could have happened?"** Maureen asked.

"**Well, we know the magnetic field of this planet's unstable, Maureen."**

"**And?"**

"**And I think the storm created a warp in that field and Will went through it."**

"**You mean he passed through into another dimension? Well, how do we get him back?"**

"**We can only try to duplicate that warp effect."**

"**Will it work?"**

"**Well, if Will stays in the same space continuum, yes, I think there's a chance we can get him back."**

Maureen placed her hand against the rock wall, praying that she would see her son again. They left the cave and Don said that they would come back with explosives and take that cave apart, but Will came running through the revolving doors and out of the cave. Will told them a fantastic tale of meeting a ghost in the dungeon of Glamis Castle in the ancient world of Scotland. **"**There was a plaque that said Hamish Rhu-Glamis was executed on that very spot in 1497. He even showed me his gout… He had to go and calm Angus with his bagpipes. Angus is the curse of Glamis Castle, and Hamish said he eats people. Anyway… **then I went along this corridor and out this door, and here I am."** He observed the incredulous expressions of his family. **"Don't you believe me?"** he asked.

"**Will, I think you better go to bed,"** Maureen said. **"You're overtired."**

"**I don't have a fever, Mom. I tell you – that's just the way it happened. I was back on Earth. I was there!"**

"**We'll talk about it later."**

"**I guess I better go to bed."**

"**Go ahead, dear."**

Will went to his room and turned around to ask one more time. **"Doesn't anybody believe me?"** Then he closed the door to his room.

Don whistled. Judy crossed her arms and admonished him**. "Now that's enough of that."**

He and Judy debated whether or not Will was telling the truth. Don thought that Will had gotten scared in the cave and that his imagination had run away with him. Judy and Maureen didn't agree**. "Judy's right. There is something in that cave that bears investigating."**

"**I couldn't agree more, madam,"** Dr. Smith offered. **"William was in that cave with me, and there was no apparent way for him to get out."**

"**Well, I'm not about to start believing in ghosts… Scottish ghosts or any other kind. Good night." **He left to get ready for bed and Judy followed him in a huff.

"Don… wait…" she called.

"Something tells me you're not following me for a romantic interlude," he replied as she caught up to him.

"Far from it. How can you just dismiss Will's story? You know we've run into lots of unusual phenomena out here in space."

"Yeah, but ghosties and beasties? Come on, Judy. You've got to admit that it's pretty far fetched."

"I agree with you, but I'm convinced that it wasn't all just his imagination. Something happened to him in that cave, and we should try to find out what it was. You said yourself that you thought he passed through into another dimension."

He cocked his head. "Yeah… but ghosts and goblins?"

Judy just crossed her arms and stared at him.

He looked heavenward and shook his head. "All right. All right. We'll investigate in the morning."

A broad smile lit her face. "I knew you'd come around."

"So, have I earned a good-night kiss?"

She reached up and pulled his head down towards hers. He backed her into his room as the kiss was signed, sealed and delivered. Neither noticed Dr. Smith leave Will's room with a small leaf Will had picked from the walls of Glamis Castle, nor did they see Will sneak out of the Jupiter or hear the far off wail of bagpipes. It wasn't long, however, before Will came running back to the Jupiter claiming that he had seen Glamis again and he was real flesh and blood.

* * *

"Dear Joan,

Don, Mom and Dr. Smith just came back from seeing Will's ghost. That ivy leaf Will brought back with him is found only in the British Isles, so the ghost, or at least Mr. Hamish, is real. Mom decided to call Dad, and Don asked him about setting up the magnetic-warp apparatus. We're going to see if works right now so we can send Hamish back to his dimension. I have to admit that it's pretty exciting, Joan. I'll let you know how it turns out."

* * *

The family was near the cave and Don was talking to John on the two-way radio. **"The only problem is, John, we can't generate enough power to maintain the warp for more than a few seconds, which means only one besides Hamish can go through."**

John responded, **"I see what you mean. You're gonna be needed at the magnetizer controls."**

"**I could go," **Judy offered.

"**Oh, no, dear,"** Maureen immediately responded.

John agreed. **"No chance, Judy. Not without knowing what's beyond that warp."**

Dr. Smith proposed that he be the one to go through the warp with the star charts, and assured them all that he would arrange for a rescue expedition. Don doubted him, but John felt that Dr. Smith going through the time warp was the best solution.

Don wasn't ready to give in. **"But…"**

"**No buts,"** John stated. **"Now you set it up that way, and don't wait for me if I'm not back. That warp could close up at any time."**

* * *

All was ready for the warp-opening. Don handed Dr. Smith a booklet of charts. **"All right,"** he said. **"As soon as you get to Earth, you make sure the Space Authority gets this."**

"**Never fear. Smith is here,"** Smith replied.

"**Yeah,"** Don mumbled as he shook his head and went to the machine.

Dr. Smith gave his good-byes to the children and announced that he was ready. Don activated the machine and the revolving door appeared. **"All right. You've got twenty seconds. Go!"**

Hamish walked through the door and Dr. Smith followed him, but dropped his space charts before he went through the door. Will ran and picked it up, calling after Dr. Smith and ran through after him.

"**Keep the door open!"** Judy shouted.

"**It's at max power now. She won't take any more,"** Don replied and the door disappeared. They had burned out a power pack, but Don left to get another one. As they were resetting the machine, Dr. Smith discovered that there was no way out of Hamish dungeon and that it was his ancestors who had betrayed Hamish. Hamish ruled that Dr. Smith's head would go on the chopping block so that he could have his revenge and he and Angus could finally rest in peace. Will, however, pleaded with Angus and Hamish to spare Dr. Smith's life, and Hamish reluctantly agreed and allowed them to go back to where they came from.

* * *

Don sat at the controls of the Jupiter while the children prepared for bed. Judy came up and joined him. "Hey," she said as she came up behind him and planted a kiss on his cheek.

He looked up at her. "Hey."

"Why so gloomy?" she asked him. "We got Will back."

"And we're still stranded," he replied. "Believe it or not, I was hoping this would lead to some sort of rescue opportunity for us."

She sat across from him. "I know, Don. We all were hoping for that. Things will work out."

He took her hand and pulled her into his lap. "How can you stay so optimistic?"

She shrugged. "It's not too hard to look at the bright side when I'm with my family… and you…"

"Really? Is that all it takes?"

She nodded, and he drew her in for a deep, loving kiss… and the hatch opened and in walked John. Judy jumped up and ran to hug him. "So, what have I been missing around here?" he asked.

"Oh, just ghosts and goblins and revolving hotel doors," Judy replied.

John raised his eyebrows. "Is that all?"

"You have to talk with Will. You won't believe what happened to him," Judy said, and she led him to the elevator.

John called back to Don as they descended. "Did I interrupt anything?"

Don sighed. "Oh, just the usual…" He rose to join the family on the lower level.

* * *

"**Oh, please, sir. Do not throw us out into the raging storm,"** Penny begged the villainous landlord played by Dr. Smith.

"**Because, baby, it's cold out there,"** the Robot, playing the poor, destitute mother, ad-libbed.

"**Ohh! That does it. I resign,"** Dr. Smith whined.

Will was next to resign. **"This play doesn't need a director. It needs a referee,"** he complained before he stomped away from the set.

Dr. Smith insisted that they didn't need a director as long as he was the star, and he directed Penny to begin again from his entrance. **"I will knock, and you will answer,"** he told her.

After a brief moment, Penny said, **"Waiting** **for the knock at the door, Dr. Smith."** The knock was heard and Penny exclaimed, **"Hark!"** When she opened the door, instead of Dr. Smith, in walked a pumpkin-headed alien…

* * *

**The Galaxy Gift**(Written by **Barney Slater**)

The alien was coughing. **"Something's wrong with him. I better call Mom."**

Dr. Smith insisted that Penny remain for he was sure the alien had set a trap for them. The Robot analyzed the situation reported that the alien was not hostile, only ill from atmospheric poisoning. **"He needs assistance, or he will perish."**

Dr. Smith's opinion was to let the alien perish, but Penny was moved to help. **"Is there anything I can do for you, sir?"**

The alien didn't reply, but turned a knob on his belt and Penny was surrounded by a ring of fire. Dr. Smith and the Robot could do nothing to help Penny. The alien rasped, **"My name is Arcon," **and he asked that he be left alone with Penny. After the Robot and Dr. Smith left, but were nearby enough to watch over her. Mr. Arcon turned himself into an Earth form so that he could breathe the oxygen on the planet. He told Penny about the Saticons, creatures that were after the green belt her wore around his waist.

"**The missiles are coming closer,"** Arcon said. **"Soon the Saticons will be here."**

"**Well, if you like, you can come into our spaceship for protection,"** Penny offered.

"**You're far from perfect, but you're very kind."**

"**What's being perfect have to do with it?"**

"**It's got everything to do with it."**

An explosion hit nearby and Mr. Arcon exclaimed, **"They're zeroing in on me. I've got to get away." **He and Penny walked a few steps and another explosion came closer yet. **"You best go too. You may be hurt."**

He decided to take Penny up on her offer and turned a knob on his belt and disappeared, but encouraged Penny to hurry home.

* * *

Penny was ready for bed and Dr. Smith held a glass of warm milk in his hands, hoping that it would calm his nerves. He complained about Don and John deserting them, but Penny reminded him that they had to check out the relay station.

Dr. Smith discovered Mr. Arcon in his bed and started to panic, exclaiming that there was a monster in his bed. Penny had no idea that he was in the ship, as she thought that the Saticons had caught him.

"They almost did," Mr. Arcon explained. **"Fortunately, my superior intelligence once again saved me."**

* * *

"Dear Joan,

We've had another visit from the Saticons. You remember those aliens I told you about that looked like some something out of the movie, All that Jazz? Penny befriended a kind alien, a Mr. Arcon, whom the Saticons were chasing. He had a big green belt around his waist, which is what the Saticons were after. The alien gave his belt to Penny. It held an amulet, which Mr. Arcon explained would protect Penny. The Saticons couldn't touch her if she was wearing it. He told her to never give the amulet up because it would give the Saticons power to destroy the entire galaxy. Then Mr. Arcon disappeared.

In the meantime, the Saticons are punishing us for protecting Mr. Arcon. They made the temperature drop to ten degrees below zero. Dr. Smith volunteered to go and tell the Saticons that Mr. Arcon was gone. He said he's become a "new Dr. Smith." I couldn't help thinking that Don would believe Dr. Smith was up to something. Maybe he really has turned over a new leaf. I always believe in giving people the benefit of the doubt. It's a good thing Don's not here. He would be furious with me for trusting Dr. Smith… again…"

"Looks good to me," John stated as he and Don checked out the relay station.

"Yeah, all the circuits check out, but it looks like there's some unusual activity here. Something has interfered with it," Don observed.

John looked over the data with Don. "…some sort of electronic interference."

"An alien communication?" Don asked.

John looked thoughtful. "Perhaps… I'll contact Maureen."

John couldn't contact Maureen. Although the transmitter was mechanically sound, it transmitted nothing. "Do you think they're all right?" Don asked.

"Oh, I'm sure they are. It may be just a short somewhere in the system. We'll find it."

As they were talking, the temperature dropped considerably. "Now what's happening? It must have dropped fifty degrees in the last two minutes," Don exclaimed.

They rushed back into the chariot, and Don tried to start the engine as John contacted Maureen on the chariot's radio. **"Maureen! Maureen, can you hear me?"** John asked.

"**Yes, dear, but the contact is fading because of the storm,"** Maureen replied.

The chariot wouldn't start and Don theorized that the radiator block was frozen. John wondered where the storm had come from and Maureen explained that the Saticons had caused it. **"The Saticons!"** John exclaimed. Maureen stated that she would explain when they returned. The storm ended and John stated that whoever caused it must have gotten what they wanted.

"John? Do you think the girls are all right?" Don asked.

"Maureen didn't sound panicked, but we better get back there."

"Dear Joan,

Mom, Will and I were looking all over for Penny and Dr. Smith. We found a Dodger's baseball pennant, of all things, left near some sort of alien machine. I told mom that, if Dr. Smith was involved, it probably meant trouble. I guess I'm beginning to sound like Don.

Then Mr. Arcon appeared and seemed to be very upset with Penny. He told us that the machine was set to send whoever entered it to an asteroid far out in space, which is where he said Penny, the Robot and Dr. Smith were. Will said that the Saticons must have tricked them into believing that they were returning to Earth. That's the only reason Dr. Smith would ever have entered that machine.

Mr. Arcon assured mom that nothing would happen to Penny as long as she kept the amulet, but he thought she would give it away, just like all the others. He uses the amulet as a test to see if the wearer would be beyond temptation and keep it, regardless of what they were offered for it by the Saticons. He was looking for the **'perfect individual'** to whom he could give what he called the **'greatest gift in the galaxy.'**

Mom insisted that, if Penny had given up the amulet, it was to save us, not for a selfish or greedy reason. Mr. Arcon didn't understand anything. She told Mr. Arcon that he must not understand **'families.'** Mom was right. He didn't understand families. On his planet, his species is hatched from eggs in a central incubator. He said that Penny and Dr. Smith were in the Saticon world. We had no idea what would happen to her. Mr. Arcon changed himself into a Saticon and went through the machine and rescued Penny. They were in a place that was exactly like Chinatown, only there were no people there. Thank goodness he brought them back. Oh, Dad and Don are back! I'll finish up with you later, Joan."

* * *

The family rushed out to greet the men back from their trip. The children quickly summarized what had happened while they were away. "And Mr. Arcon was going to send Dr. Smith to a dead star," Penny stated.

"I wish I had met this Mr. Arcon," Don stated. "I think I would have liked him."

"Don!" Judy admonished him. "How can you say that?"

"The man had Dr. Smith's number – that he would be a menace in any society."

"Well, it's a good thing you _weren't_ here," Judy stated. "Penny insisted that, if Mr. Arcon was sent away, she would go with him and Will said he would too… I said he'd have to take all three of us."

"You said… what?!"

"I said he'd have to take all three of us," Judy repeated.

"As I told Mr. Arcon, Don. We learn from our errors and forgive others' mistakes," Maureen lectured him.

"I'd agree with you, Maureen, except for one thing… Smith _never_ learns from his mistakes!"

Dr. Smith sniffed. "I assure you, Major, I have become a new me."

Don looked to John for support, but John knew what to do to keep his wife happy. He shrugged and said, "Maureen does have a point, Don… We do forgive…"

Don rolled his eyes. "This family will never learn…"

Judy laughed and took his arm. "To quote you, Major West, that's why you love us."

Don tried to remain serious, but a smile formed on his lips. He had benefited from that forgiveness himself… "Yeah… I guess you could say that."

"And this family benefits from your skepticism, Major West," the Robot added.

"Well, thank you, Robot, I'm glad someone has sense around here," Don replied.

"That insolent interloper? He has no business interfering in this discussion," Dr. Smith complained.

John raised his hands. "All right, that's enough," he said. "No one got hurt and we're all together. In fact, I think it's time that we had some fun." Six jaws dropped, and, if the Robot had one, it would have been seven. "We have a bat and ball and a pennant. How about a game of baseball?"

"Yeah!" Will exclaimed. "We haven't done that since Idak left."

"I claim second base," Don stated.

"I will be permanent pitcher," the Robot added.

"You? Well that's not fair… not fair at all," Dr. Smith argued. The argument continued as the family drifted back to their ship, with Debbie waving the pennant the entire way. As they started their game, they had no idea that a planet-destroying comet was heading directly towards them… And they would _never _realize how it would change the weekly music in their lives…

**END OF SEASON TWO**


End file.
